Olympics hockey: Shamsher, from Tokyo newbie to Paris linkman
Hindustan TimesGraham Reid had shocked the Indian hockey community by naming a six-match old Shamsher Singh in his Tokyo Olympics squad. The Indian team stood on the right flank of the Olympic podium at Tokyo’s Oi Hockey Stadium, Shamsher standing in the middle with a gleaming bronze medal hanging from his neck. The Surjit Singh Hockey Academy product had delivered at the biggest stage of them all as the Indian men’s hockey team ended a 41-year wait for an Olympic medal. Also, my ability to receive and control aerial balls from the back and push it forward are probably my plus points which have handed me the role of the linkman.” A little more than a year ago, Fulton came in with his ‘defend to win’ strategy and a heavy emphasis on tightening the backline, poaching the ball during an opposition attack and counterattacking with the entire unit pressing.