Half-court push to leverage counter-attacks is the modern Indian hockey strategy
‘Hockey dominance’
“Counter-attack is no longer our preferred style of play.” When chatting with Scroll.in, Oltmans did not mince words. “Previously, we only went for counter-attacks, but now we play much more dominant hockey with far more possession, which ensures opponents defend much more than they did previously.”
Coach Craig Fulton is redefining the long-held mindset in Indian hockey by making the squad less vulnerable to counterattacks from stronger opponents and tighter in the midfield.
India’s hockey squad is quickly moving from resembling the famous Klopp-coached oppressing sides to Mourinho-esque mid-block masters. And, while the high press has a magnetic pull of its own, the half-court is no less so.
The tactical change, the think-tank thinks, would allow players to fully utilize their counter-attacking abilities while also making the defense powerful without being overly defensive.
“It’s more about setting yourself up for counterattacks, where you try to draw the opposition out a little bit,” India coach Craig Fulton explained.
In doing so, the South African is upending a long-held ethos in Indian hockey, where teams of all ages used a high, aggressive press to pressurize opponents, block outlets, take the ball deep in their own half, and assault their goal.
This approach is consistent with the coaching method promoted by Hockey India’s past High-Performance Directors, and it is even included in a dossier outlining the national playing philosophy. ‘Pressure by press’ is one of the document’s integral and high-priority components in the “without ball principles.”
As India went from the depths of global hockey to the podium in Tokyo, the high press became synonymous with the country. Fulton feels that changing techniques may be necessary to go on the Olympic podium.
“Sometimes, you high press the whole game, teams work it out, so what do you do next?” he asks. “You need another option behind your strongest presses so you have more than one way of going forward.”
Former coach Graham Reid used a full-court press for the bulk of his career until switching to a two-third press as an option to give the forwards some space for build-ups.
The team has withdrawn a little further under Fulton, and defensive transitions now begin near the half-line. The goal is to restrict space for the opposition, particularly fast and aggressive teams, drive them forward, and steal the ball so that India’s USP, a quick counterattack, can be unleashed.
“We worked hard on this at camp and had very good results,” said captain Harmanpreet Singh. “Because the team stays compact and plays within a structure when we win the ball, it’s simply a matter of making the right decision.”
They haven’t entirely abandoned the full press look. When India has the momentum, when they are not forced to play defensive or are not at a numerical disadvantage, they have pressed high and aggressively. However, it has not been a common or go-to style.
During this competition, the hosts have deployed the half-court press, especially when the team is down a player.
Shivendra Singh, a former India striker, and current assistant coach, said the technique is also intended to be used against higher-ranked teams who have frequently exploited the holes created at the back when playing the full press.
“Countries like Australia and England rely heavily on counterattacks,” Shivendra explained. “When we played full press and they were a half-court, they used to take advantage of the smallest mistakes we’d make; beat us in one-on-one situations, exploit the resulting gaps, and score a goal.” Because we have more numbers in defense with the new system, we can focus on counter-control.”
“In full court, we had to be careful not to leave big gaps or get beaten in one-versus-one tackling because that can give opponents a man advantage,” Shivendra explained. The purpose of the half court is to block the center and straight path towards goal, pushing opponents to wider regions where it is easier to protect the ball and tackle.”
Harmanpreet, who plays as a free man, is responsible for blocking the ‘hotline’, or the direct line between the attacker and the goal.
Fulton has used a double pivot in the midfield to bolster the defense even more. He’s put two of Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, and Manpreet Singh in the midfield, in front of the central defenders and behind the offensive midfielders.
It’s a strategy he’s used repeatedly in the Asian Champions Trophy after choosing former captain Manpreet in the midfield after using him as a defender in previous competitions. And it’s worked, with the pairs working flawlessly together even in tight quarters.
Fulton has demonstrated how he wants his squad to play with less than a month till the Asian Games, an Olympic qualifier. India may no longer be playing heavy metal hockey. It’s as exciting when it works.
