India’s men’s hockey team retained their Asian Games title for the first time on Saturday, beating Malaysia 5-1 in the final in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The win also gives India a direct place at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, so the team will not need to go through a qualifying tournament.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh scored twice, and Jugraj Singh, Hardik Singh and Shilanand Lakra got one each. Malaysia’s only goal came from Shello Silverius.
How the final played out
The first quarter was close. Harmanpreet put India ahead in the 11th minute with a drag-flick from a penalty corner, but Silverius equalised three minutes later, and the sides went into the first break level at 1-1.
India controlled the match from there. Jugraj Singh converted a penalty corner in the 23rd minute to put India back in front before half-time, and Hardik Singh made it 3-1 from a penalty stroke in the 42nd minute.
Malaysia tried to hurt India on the counter-attack, using their pace on the break, but they created little in the second half. Lakra added the fourth goal in the 54th minute and Harmanpreet finished the scoring with another penalty-corner strike in the 57th.
India won 14 penalty corners to Malaysia’s three and had 54 per cent of the ball.
The road to the final
India went through the group stage without dropping a point, and a 2-0 win over Japan confirmed their place in the semi-finals. The semi-final against Pakistan was much tighter. India won it 4-3, with Abhishek scoring the winner in the final minute.
A third gold for Manpreet Singh
Former captain Manpreet Singh became the first Indian hockey player to win three Asian Games gold medals. He was also part of the teams that won the title at Incheon in 2014 and Hangzhou in 2023, and he remains one of the most experienced players in the squad.
India’s Asian Games record
India have finished on the podium at almost every Asian Games men’s hockey competition they have played in. Saturday’s result is their fifth gold, after the titles of 1966, 1998, 2014 and 2023, and takes their overall tally to five golds, nine silvers and three bronzes. Until now, India had never won the title at two Games in a row.
The men’s gold was India’s 21st of these Games. India’s women’s team have also won gold in Japan, so both hockey sides go home as Asian champions.
What it means for LA 2028
With the Olympic place settled, the team’s calendar for the next two years no longer has to include a qualifying event. India will go to Los Angeles trying to add to the bronze medals they won at Tokyo and Paris.
