PR Sreejesh launches scathing attack on coach Craig Fulton after India's Pro League flop show: 'Spending Rs 25 lakh...'

India hockey legend PR Sreejesh targetted head coach Craig Fulton after the team's poor performance at the recently concluded FIH Pro League where the Men in Blue could only secure four wins in 16 matches. The flop show meant India finished eighth in the nine-team table with only Pakistan behind.

Sreejesh took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his disappointment with the Indian team's performance and asked whether the amount being spent on the foreign coach is justified by only dominating the Asian teams.

Sreejesh's rant over India's poor show

In a long post on X, the former India goalkeeper said that success in Asia cannot be seen as a benchmark for the Indian team. With Sreejesh standing tall at the goalpost, India had won back-to-back bronze medals at the last two Olympics. However, the Pro League performances in recent years have been largely forgettable.

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“I’m not against Indian hockey. I’m disappointed because I care,” Sreejesh said in a post on X. "My hockey knowledge may be limited, and this is just my opinion. (Armchair coaches, you can skip this.) The last two FIH Pro League seasons have exposed the reality—we finished 8th. If not for Ireland and Pakistan, the standings could have looked even worse. Don’t tell me that we are trying new players or we are applying new strategys.”

“Yes, we won the Asian Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup. Congratulations to the team. But let’s be honest: those tournaments are no longer the benchmark for judging where Indian hockey stands globally.

“Now the usual explanation will be: ‘We’re focusing on the Asian Games because it’s the Olympic qualifier.’ That’s understandable—but the Pro League table doesn’t lie. It showed exactly where we stand against the world’s best," Sreejes said.

Sreejesh who coached the junior team previouslyh said that winning in Asia is the expected result but competing against top teams like Belgium, Australia, England and others is the challenging part.

“Our junior team can beat Pakistan, it also shows the gap between India and the rest of Asia. Winning Asian tournaments is expected. The real challenge is consistently competing with the top teams in the world,” he said.

He then targetted Fulton, a former South Africa player coaching India since 2023, and said that was spending almost Rs 25 lakh on him bringing the desired results.

“So here’s the question: Are we spending €24,286 (approximately INR 25 Lakh) a month on a foreign chief coach just to dominate Asian competitions? Or are we investing to become a genuine medal contender at the World Cup, Pro League, and Olympics? Being satisfied with regional success while struggling against the world’s elite shouldn’t be the standard for Indian hockey,” he added in his post.

"Supporting the team doesn't mean staying silent. Real supporters ask tough questions because they want higher standards—not lower expectations," Sreejesh concluded.