India, Sept. 8 -- A relaxed Craig Fulton was taking a stroll on the blue turf of the Bihar Sports University Hockey Stadium late on Sunday, having a video chat with his family based in Ireland just after delivering the Asia Cup title for India.

Having dominated the continent for the past two years, India had entered the tournament as overwhelming favourites. Though they stuttered at the start, the team grew into the tournament and won, earning qualification for the 2026 World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium. "It was important to get it out of the way, right?" Fulton told HT.

For Fulton's team, the next real targets are about a year away - World Cup and Asian Games. With the kind of success Fulton has had with India in the last two ye...