Hockey, FIH Pro League: India get ready for a tough European leg, with a little help from Irish rugby

Indian Express

18 hours ago

A weekend watching the Leinster vs Scarlets in the United Rugby Championship must not have been on the bucket list of India's hockey players. But that's how they kicked off their Road to the 2026 World Cup, as spectators at Dublin's Lansdowne Road stadium, witnessing the bruising quarterfinal between two Irish Rugby Championship sides.
It was the most unlikely way to kick-start the one-year countdown to the World Cup. But at least this didn't involve pulling off stunts in the snowy Alps, which coach Craig Fulton made them do just before the Paris Olympics. 'It helps understand the culture of the country you are in. They take that sport very seriously,' says the Indian chief coach, who keeps innovating with his team-building methods.
In early 2024, the start of the Olympic year, the hockey team conquered Table Mountain in Cape Town. Then, just before the Paris Games, where they defended their bronze medal, the players rappelled in the Swiss Alps. If these hikes were designed to prepare the players for the unknown and make them experience 'fear', the trip to Dublin's fabled ground last weekend was to absorb a new culture, but it wasn't just limited to that. There was a tactical element to it, too.
'If you think of the Irish or any team that plays man-to-man, there's a history of being physical. And Ireland is very comfortable being that. It (going to rugby) was just to show the boys another way of a game that is only physical — the more physical you are, the more dominant you are,' Fulton said. 'It was also to improve our own physical capabilities. We can be stronger on the ball, we can be more aggressive in defence within the rules of hockey. So, it was to share a new experience but also show it's relevant.'
The lesson in the physicality of sport was also relevant because India's opponents on Saturday in the FIH Pro League, the Netherlands, play hockey in a manner that Fulton described — man-to-man and physical.
The match against the Dutch on Saturday will kick off a gruelling period for the men's team, which will play six matches in nine days against world hockey's heavyweight sides. Apart from the Netherlands, India will face Belgium, Australia and Argentina.
They can't afford to ease into this leg of matches, too. The Pro League, a glorified exhibition in its earlier renditions, has assumed significance in the last couple of seasons because the competition now doubles up as a World Cup qualifier. India are placed third after the home leg of matches. If they earn enough points from the European leg to finish on top of the nine-team tournament, they will earn a direct berth for the World Cup.
'I think it's pretty clear that this is one of the ways of securing qualification for the World Cup. So definitely, we are putting that as a priority. If it doesn't work out, we have the Asia Cup in August in Bihar,' Fulton said. 'But we have been training well for this. We really want to finish as high as we possibly can and qualify for the World Cup, bearing in mind that Australia, Holland and Belgium have already qualified.'
The matches over the next fortnight are also important because they will give India a chance to experience the two World Cup venues, the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen and Antwerp's Sportcentrum.
For an entire generation of players, except Manpreet Singh, that has not experienced playing a World Cup on foreign soil — given the last two editions were held in India — getting the feel of the venue, too, will be a priority. Especially playing against the Dutch, in a stadium that is likely to be brimming with orange shirts.
India have in the past gone toe-to-toe with the Netherlands but have had trouble in eking out wins — in the last five years, India have beaten them in regulation time just twice.
India prepared for the Pro League with three practice matches in Ireland. The Harmanpreet Singn-led side lost the first match, which was due to the lack of acclimatisation according to Fulton, and won the other two.
Rugby, of course, was a nice distraction from the routine. But choosing Ireland as a pit stop, Fulton said, had a specific reason. They, like the Netherlands, play man-to-man hockey.
'For the full 60 minutes, it's man-to-man. That's why we chose them as an opposition; to go there beforehand and help us prepare for what we face tomorrow (Saturday),' Fulton said. 'It went well… We had some really good phases of play. We are in a good place.'
Indian men's team Pro League schedule:
vs the Netherlands: June 7 (7.30 pm); June 9 (6 pm)
vs Argentina: June 11 (6.30 pm); June 12 (6.30 pm)
vs Australia: June 14 (2 pm); June 15 (2 pm)
vs Belgium: June 21 (7 pm); June 22: (7 pm)
All times IST, matches live on Jio HotStar and Star Sports Select 2