Exclusive | 'We need to play the game, not...': Coach Fulton on Indo-Pak tie in Asian Champions Trophy

Harmanpreet Singh-India have been on fire in the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy, in Chennai.With three wins and a draw, India sit pretty at the top spotwith 10 points, followed by Malaysia (9 points), South Korea (5), Pakistan (5), Japan (2) and China (1). On Wednesday (August 09), India face another challenge as they host arch-rivals Pakistan for the first time in the tournament, which is expected to be another thrilling contest.

Ahead of the marquee Indo-Pak clash, WION's Sports Editor Digvijay Singh Deo caught up with India head coach Craig Fulton in an exclusive interaction. Prior to the much-awaited face-off in Chennai, Fulton stated that he is excited about the big-ticket clash but played down the hype saying Harmanpreet & Co. need to 'back their own structure and training' and look to keep improving.

'We need to play the game and not the occasion'

On India's overall run so far, Fulton said, "Been a great experience so far and the home fans have been fantastic." Sharing his take on the Indo-Pak rivalry, he opined, "I have watched a few of these games before (Indo-Pak clashes). Been prepared for a long time for this clash ever since I took this job. Very excited about this, especially at this stage of the tournament. It is an important game. We need to play the game and not the occasion. It brings its own pressure but you got to back your own structure and training and look to improve in areas where we need to."

The 48-year-old Fulton opened up on the Pakistan line-up and said, "Yeah, they are in a nice rebuilding stage. As every national team does, they are in a rebuilding stage and a team to watch out for."

It is to be noted that the Men in Green are in a spot of bother in the continental tournament. They need to win to guarantee a spot in the last four. A defeat would leave their fate on the result of the China-Japan tie. If they lose to India, Pakistan will hope for China's win. Incase Japan outplays China, the victory of the margin should be lesser. In addition, Pakistan will hope for Malaysia to go pastSouth Korea by a handsome margin to benefit their chances.

Talking about India's run and the fitness standards, the South African said, "In four games, we have scored 16 goals. Putting back-to-back performances has been tough. We have done well versus China and Malaysia. We are still in a good place and am very happy with where we are. I am happy with the fitness level. We have played nine games in 12 days and we still have three more games to go. It is a challenge but we are up for it. We need most recovery towards the end of the tournament."

India is riding high on confidence in the Asian Champions Trophy 2023. Captain Harmanpreet recently entered an elite list of players with 150 international goals and has already scored on five instances. Thus, he will be eager to lead from the front once again on Wednesday evening. “It would definitely be a high-intensity tie. We need to be smart and focus on our actual gameplan and our responsibilities. We will stick to our original structure and try to finish better,” said the skipper ahead of the Pakistan tie.

In overall head-to-head, Pakistan lead India 82-64, along with 32 draws, but the tides have turned in India's favour of late. In the Asian Champions Trophy, the Men in Blue lead 6-2 along with two drawn encounters.

As the hosts aim for a gold in the Asian Champions Trophy, they will be eager to maintain their unbeaten run with a win over Pakistan (before the semi-finals). It is to be noted that Pakistan have not beaten India in the tournamence since 2016.

India Squad:PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Harmanpreet Singh (C), Amit Rohidas, Jarmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Jugraj Singh, Varun Kumar, Hardik Singh (VC), Shamsher Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Manpreet Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Akashdeep Singh, S.Karthi, Gurjant Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Pawan, Mandeep Singh.

Pakistan Squad:Mohammad Umar Bhutta (captain), Rana Abdul Waheed Ashraf (vice-captain), Akmal Hussain, Abdullah Ishtiaq Khan, Mohammad Abdullah, Mohammad Sufyan Khan, Ehtisham Aslam, Osama Bashir, Aqeel Ahmed, Arshad Liaquat, Mohammad Imad, Abdul Hanan Shahid, Zakaria Hayat, Roman, Mohammad Murtaza Yaqub, Mohammad Shahzaib Khan, Afraz, Abdul Rahman

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