But fulton

Hockey India Annual Awards: As the Indian men’s hockey team will leave for their Australia tour on Monday, coach Craig Fulton said that a five-match tour stands as their top priority for fine-tuning their game for the ultimate challenge at the Paris Olympics, scheduled to be held from July 26 to August 11. The tour starts on April 6 with all the matches to be played in Perth, Australia.

"It's our number one priority right now. I think Australia is ranked fifth in the world at the moment. And it's going to be a great challenge," Fulton told IANS on the sidelines of the Hockey India Annual Awards. It will be an interesting tour as India have won very few matches against Australia, competitive or practice matches, in the last decade or so. Though they have had limited success against Australia, the Indian men's team has been on a since ending a four-decade drought in Tokyo in 2021.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Indian men's hockey team ended a 41-year medal drought by clinching bronze in a thrilling 5-4 victory over Germany in a nail-biting playoff match. This remarkable achievement has heightened expectations for the team heading into the Paris Olympics.