Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], October 1: India men’s hockey team head coach Craig Fulton said the side is keeping its approach simple and focusing on staying calm and composed ahead of their Asian Games 2026 semi-final against arch-rivals Pakistan on Thursday.
With the high-stakes clash attracting considerable attention, Fulton said the players are treating it like any other game, with the difference being that it is a knockout fixture.
“I think in all tournament hockey, all roads lead to this point. So semi-finals are games of consequence, so it’s exciting,” Fulton told Hockey India in an interview shared on X.
Fulton acknowledged the significance of reaching the knockout stage and said semi-finals are games that carry consequences.
Asked whether India are preparing differently from a mental perspective for a knockout game at the Asian Games, Fulton said the team is not adding any extra pressure and is instead simplifying its approach.
“We’re not adding more to it, we’re actually doing less. And it’s just the ability to stay super calm and composed and making sure that we put our own game plan on and we focus 100% on what we need to do and our strengths,” the head coach added.
The Indian men’s hockey team will renew one of international hockey’s fiercest rivalries when the defending champions take on Pakistan in the first semi-final of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 in Japan on Thursday, with a place in the gold-medal match at stake. The second semi-final will be played between Malaysia and South Korea.
India have been unbeaten in the tournament so far, finishing at the top of Pool A with five wins from five matches. The campaign began with a 13-1 victory over Indonesia, followed by a 16-1 win against Sri Lanka. India then produced an 8-2 result against South Korea before overcoming hosts Japan 2-0 in what proved to be their toughest pool-stage contest. The scoreline in the win over the South Korean team was India’s best against them in the Asian Games history. India signed off the group phase with a commanding 10-0 win over Bangladesh.
While India have been clinical across the tournament, their attacking unit has also found its rhythm at the right time. Striker Dilpreet Singh has been among the leading scorers with nine goals, putting him joint second on the tournament’s scoring chart. His fellow forward Abhishek and captain Harmanpreet Singh have eight goals each, with Harmanpreet’s drag-flicks continuing to be a force to reckon with on penalty corners.
Pakistan, meanwhile, had been on course to finish top of Pool B and potentially meet India in the final, but a narrow 4-5 defeat to Malaysia pushed them into second place and set up Thursday’s much-anticipated semi-final. In their other pool matches, Pakistan registered wins over Thailand (9-0), Uzbekistan (5-1), China (3-0) and Oman (7-2).
Pakistan’s scoring hopes will be led by drag-flick specialist Sufiyan Khan, who has been prolific from penalty-corner situations and currently tops the tournament scoring charts with 11 goals. His battle with India’s Harmanpreet could become one of the defining aspects of the contest, with both sides aware that conceding penalty corners could prove costly.
Source: ANI News
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