Physically in Bhubaneswar with focus on WCs & LA

THE beginning of a new Olympic cycle is sport's own way of resetting of the seasons.

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN @Bhubaneswar

The winter is over, the winners have all gone home and spring is here. New narratives, fresh players and different systems. Longtermism is actively promoted by the people who run teams.

Over the last week or so, this has been one of the most visible themes at the Pro League in Bhubaneswar. Germany, at least on paper, are the world champions and the Olympic silver-medallists, but coach Andre Henning doesn't want to hear any of it. "That team is history," he says. "Most of our players cannot identify with (that feeling)." India's Craig Fulton, who oversaw the bronze in Paris, has come here with an additional responsibility. Giving game-time to young players—he namechecked Arshdeep Singh—to give them an advantage when the junior World Cup rolls around later this year in Tamil Nadu.