As part of the post-tournament analysis, then India men’s hockey coach Graham Reid spotted a missing piece in the team’s preparation. India, favourites at the FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup held earlier this year, lost in the crossover to New Zealand. Reid opined that the extra pressure of being hosts made matches “difficult to process.”
He added that the team would benefit from the presence of a mental conditioning coach.
India now have a new coach in Craig Fulton, and as the team prepares for a Four Nation tournament in Spain, the team will be armed with the presence of experienced mental conditioning expert Paddy Upton.
India rope in Paddy Upton as mental conditioning coach to work with men’s team
The South African, a compatriot of Fulton, is familiar with India. He had worked with the Indian men’s cricket team en route to their triumph on home soil at the 2011 Cricket World Cup.
He was also part of the South African men’s cricket team when they achieved the world No 1 ranking in all three formats of the game. He was also the head coach for the Indian Premier League side Rajasthan Royals for three years. Aside from cricket, Upton has also conducted mental conditioning workshops for Indian Super League FC Goa and FC Hyderabad,…
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