WC: India coach questions FIH over China’s penalty stroke, later deletes posts

New Delhi: India's head coach Craig Fulton has urged his team to demonstrate greater composure and enhance their defensive discipline ahead of the crucial clash against Pakistan in the Hockey World Cup. Following a 2-4 defeat to England in their second Pool D match on Monday, India now requires at least a point against Pakistan on Wednesday to advance to the second round.

India had the upper hand in the first half, leading 2-1 after goals from Harmanpreet Singh and Dilpreet Singh. However, England turned the tide after halftime, scoring three times to leave India needing only a point to secure progression. Fulton acknowledged that India's defensive intensity diminished in the second half, stating, "The first half was good. We got PCs on the counter-attack and came back nicely with a bit more control. In the third quarter, our defence was not as good as it was supposed to be."

Fulton shifted focus to the impending Pakistan match, emphasizing the importance of composure and ball control. "If we had won today, we still have to do the business in the next game. We just have to be better on the ball in the final match and show a bit of composure. We needed to press out and put some pressure on them," he said.

The forward line performed well, but India fell short in scoring goals. "We needed to score three-plus goals and we could only score two. It's just the second match and we will learn from this loss. We have another big opportunity against Pakistan and the boys are motivated for that," Fulton added.

Manpreet Singh, an experienced midfielder, also highlighted defensive lapses as a significant reason for the defeat. He urged India to maintain defensive discipline against top teams and convert their chances. "We were playing so well till the third quarter but there were a few defensive lapses in the last quarter which cost us. Overall, the performance was good, but the defence has to be very strong against the top teams, and we need to convert our chances also," Manpreet said.

India attempted various variations from penalty corners, but England's defense held firm. "We were trying variations on PCs, but they defended well. We cannot underestimate any team. Pakistan also have good penalty corner specialists, so we must not concede PCs against them. We have to earn more PCs in the upcoming matches," Manpreet stated.

Despite England's strong performance, India's defense broke their full press multiple times, creating opportunities. "Our defenders broke their full press many times. It's a long tournament, and we will learn from the mistakes. You cannot play with the same momentum for the whole 60 minutes, but we are creating opportunities till the last minute. There is a structure of playing and we follow that," Manpreet concluded.