Kakamigahara (Japan): India defended the gold medal in men’s hockey after a strong 4-1 win over Malaysia in the Asian Games 2026 final at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium in Kakamigahara on Saturday.
Harmanpreet Singh scored a brace, while Jugraj Singh, Hardik Singh and Shilanand Lakra also found the back of the net for India as the Men in Blue celebrated their first-ever gold defence at the Asian Games. Meanwhile, India have also clinched a direct berth for the Los Angeles Olympics with this win.
Harmanpreet Singh’s team came into the final without breaking a sweat. They topped their group stage with five wins in five matches. The Men in Blue defeated arch-rivals Pakistan in the semifinal by 4-3. That game tested India as Pakistan levelled from 0-3 down to 3-3. However, Abhishek nailed a strike in the final minute to take India home.
Meanwhile, this is also the first time that India men and women have both won the gold medal at the same edition of the Asian Games. The women’s team won the yellow metal in the final after defeating Paris Olympics silver medallists China in the gold clash.
India men began the gold medal clash with strong intent as they made circle entries in the first quarter and then found the opening through captain Harmanpreet when he fired a dragflick on a penalty corner to put India 1-0 up in the 11th minute.
Malaysia, however, responded as they levelled things back a few minutes later with Shello Silverius smashing a brilliant goal from the left flank as Indian goalkeeper Suraj Karkera was blindsided by a layer of players in front of him. The two teams were 1-1 at the end of the first quarter.
Malaysia attacked more in the second half as they secured a few penalty corners and tested the Indian defence. India later earned a PC, and Jugraj put India ahead in the 23rd minute, giving India a 2-1 lead at the end of the first half.
India began the second half with strong possession and also kept putting pressure on the Malaysians. They earned a couple of penalty corners and then a penalty stroke when the ball hit the body of the Malaysian post defender. Hardik turned up and scored from the spot for a 3-1 India lead at the end of the third quarter.
India kept Malaysia in check with a counterattack, and then Sanjay found Rajinder in the circle, but his shot went wide. India found their fourth goal in the 54th minute when Shilanand put one into the goal after a deflection to make it 4-1 for India. Captain Harmanpreet then got his brace when he converted a penalty corner for a 5-1 lead, which the Men in Blue held for a huge win.
This is the fifth time that India have won a gold medal in the Asian Games, bagging the top spot on the podium in 1966, 1998, 2014, 2022 and 2026. The Indian men’s hockey team finished runners-up on nine occasions — in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982*, 1990, 1994 and i002. The country has claimed bronze medals in 1986, 2010, and 2018.
(IANS)
