Craig Fulton reveals: From Swiss alps to Olympic high

India hockey coach explains how the pre-Olympics mental conditioning camp in Switzerland helped Harmanpreet & Co do well at Paris 2024

India’s hockey players have traditionally possessed the skills and, in the recent past, have been part one of the most physically-fit teams in the world. However, the mental aspect had to be worked on, and Team India's recent Olympic bronze medal in Paris 

could be attributed to the development in this aspect.

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A three-day camp at renowned adventurer Mike Horne’s base in the Swiss alps with India’s 2011 cricket World Cup-winning mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton just before the Paris Olympics had the players indulge in various team-building activities like trekking, glacier-walking and mountain-climbing, among others.

Coach Craig Fulton believes the positive result of this camp was there for all to see at the Paris Olympics. “If you look at India’s first match at Tokyo [2020 Olympics], versus Australia, we lost 1-7. Then, look at the game against Australia [in Paris], India won 3-2, but at one stage we were 4-1 up. That’s where the difference in the mental perspective lies. All that work we did with Paddy [Upton] and the full staff was great. It’s not just one thing, but everything linked together. Team-building at the right time was amazing, but very difficult too. It was very challenging mentally. That’s what set us up nicely [for the Olympics], getting rid of any doubts. It made us proactive and on the front foot at all times,” Fulton said recently.

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