Mandeep Singh entered the Pro League on the back of one of his longest goal-scoring droughts. The twice Olympic medallist hadn’t found the back of the net in 10 games, a run stretching a little more than six months.
He ended the dry spell with a simple tap-in in the 2-0 win over Spain in the FIH Pro League last week. It wasn’t a coincidence that Mandeep’s first goal since opening India’s account at the Paris Olympics, against New Zealand on July 27, 2024, was a deflection from roughly five yards out.
In the week leading up to the year’s first assignment, India flew down an Australian specialist, Michael McCann, just to sharpen exactly these skills of the attackers.
McCann isn’t any other name in world hockey. A prolific scorer with an average of a goal every other game, he was one of the heroes in Australia’s 2004 Athens Olympics gold medal-winning campaign.
McCann made a career out of operating in the nine-yard zone between the penalty spot and the goal, from where most goals are scored in hockey. Never the one to make dazzling runs into the ‘D’ and score from a distance, McCann’s game was all about positioning — he’d sit either on the post or in front of the goalkeeper and then rely on his anticipation and instincts to wait for a deflection opportunity or latch on to a rebound.
As the next stage of evolution in the team that has won back-to-back Olympic bronze medals, Fulton is seeking this level of ruthlessness from his players.
So, the India coach dialled in the Australian great, who for more than a decade has been working as a coach in Germany, and convinced him to conduct a master class for his players in Bhubaneswar.
Story continues below this ad
Fulton said at the Olympics, teams played a low defensive block, forcing the coaching staff to find newer ways to beat the defence.
“Post-Olympics, we noticed teams were playing very low and we need different skill sets than just to be able to turn from the top of the ‘D’ and shoot, we need more nine-yard skills so why not bring in a specialist who knows that and can do that,” Fulton says, adding McCann will hold more sessions going forward.
The nine yards is where the game is decided. And it’s where India have struggled the most, despite the team taking rapid strides in almost every other area.
Potency in front of the goal is also crucial because of India’s over-reliance on just one man to score, Harmanpreet Singh through his drag-flicks. This week, a jaded Harmanpreet played with his right wrist heavily strapped. Consequently, his flicks have lacked the usual venom and with the backup drag-flicker Jugraj Singh also misfiring, India’s penalty corner conversion rate stands at a dismal five out of 30, although Harmanpreet did score a brace on Tuesday night in India’s 2-1 win over England.
Story continues below this ad
Conversely, when Harmanpreet finds his range, India are on a song. At the Paris Olympics, out of the 15 goals India scored, only three were from open play and it was Harmanpreet’s accuracy from the penalty spot and the fierce flicks that ensured India finished on the podium. His 10 goals — most in the Paris Olympics — earned him the International Player of the Year title.
This over-dependence on an overburdened Harmanpreet, whose defensive contributions are as vital, proved fatal at the 2023 World Cup. Fulton does not just aim to reduce that but the hunt is also on for more reliable and consistent sources for field goals.
India had a dozen strikers in the training camp before the Pro League, a testament to the one big area where the team management seeks change and improvement. Post-Paris, Fulton has given chances to a bunch of under-21s, including the likes of Uttam Singh, Araijeet Singh Hundal, Arshdeep Singh, Shilanand Lakra and Angad Bir Singh.
While for them, the week with McCann was ‘eye-opening’, it seems to have reinvigorated some of the senior pros like Mandeep and Gurjant, who, too, found his scoring touch after a prolonged drought.
Story continues below this ad
McCann taught the Indians what he did the best: position themselves near the post, be brave, stay low and make quick decisions.
“He is a legend,” says Uttam Singh, who graduated from junior to senior last year. “He worked on our finishing; more importantly, quick finishing. He taught us receiving techniques, tricks to position ourselves on the second post and even which side the stick should be facing.”
The lessons didn’t end there. McCann shared his tips on different ways to use fake runs to fool a defender into something as intricate as the angle of the body while standing near the posts.
There was special emphasis, however, on scoring from the nine-yard area, Mandeep says. “How to deflect from there… how to use two touches to take a shot,” Mandeep, a member of India’s Tokyo and Paris Olympics campaign, says. “Off the field, he held one-hour sessions where he showed us video clips. Those sessions helped us a lot. There have been improvements if you see the number of field goals in this tournament.”
Story continues below this ad
Mandeep would know. McCann’s tips, after all, helped him end the goal drought.
