It is not an easy situation for the Indian men’s hockey team. Nor for its chief coach Craig Fulton. Having landed in Bhubaneswar to begin their campaign in the FIH Pro League – the final tournament before Paris Olympics – Harmanpreet Singh and Co were dealt a shocking news.
Varun Kumar, the team’s vital defender who helped India win the Olympic bronze in Tokyo, had been accused of rape under POCSO Act (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences). The 28-year-old pulled out of the elite nine-team tournament on Wednesday to seek legal options, leaving Fulton to chalk out alternative plans.
“If you look at it from the outside, of course it’s a challenging situation but at the same time, you’ve got a level of professionalism and then from a start point of view we have to have our plans in place. So, if you took it as an injury, someone now is injured, what would you do? What are the plans in place in the event of an injury,” Fulton said on Friday.
“So, Varun is not here. What is the plan? There was always a plan in place for anyone that gets injured like striker, midfield or defender. So, we’re going on the level of professionalism we have in the group, the values that we hold. It’s a distraction, it’s challenging, it’s not great but we have to move forward, we have a plan in place on how we go. We have a situation but at the same time we have plans to keep everyone in focus.”
Fulton had taken a 24-member squad, now reduced to 23 after Varun’s departure, for the first leg of the 2023-24 Pro League season that will be held in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. India will play Spain, Australia, defending champions Netherlands and Ireland in Bhubaneswar between February 10-16 before playing the same teams in Rourkela from February 19-25. India open against Spain on Saturday.
The Pro League will be an opportunity for Fulton to try out different players, test combinations and execute the plans that they have been trying out in the national camp in Bengaluru before the all-important Olympics where the Harmanpeet-led side will aim to return to the podium. Only 16 players will head to Paris.
“It is a home stretch but it’s also about us confirming our Olympic squad. We have 29 players (probables) of which 24 are playing. We are trying to give everyone an opportunity in both competitions (Bhubaneswar and Rourkela) and then confirm our Olympic squad. Then obviously (we have to) to keep developing our playing style, game, our combinations within that,” said Fulton.
