Asian Games 2026: Indian Men’s Hockey Team Punch Ticket To LA 2028; Beat Malaysia By 5-1 In The Final

Hyderabad: The Indian men’s hockey team managed to defend their gold medal at the Asian Games for the first time. The Indian team beat Malaysia by 5-1 in the final. Also, with the triumph, Indian team secured a berth in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Harmanpreet Singh (11’), Jugraj Singh (23’) and Hardik Singh (42’), Shilanand Lakra (54') and Hamanpreet Singh (57') inked their names on the scoresheet. Two of the goals came from penalty corners while one came from the penalty stroke. The Indian team received a lot of penalty corners.

Malaysians were trying to play on the counter and were making moves with quick speed. The first quarter was a close contest as Malaysia were attacking with thunderous speed. The scores were levelled at 1-1. But, the Indian team took off from the second quarter and finished the match scoring five goals. Malaysia's lone goal was scored by Shello Silverius from a field effort in the 14th minute.

India got a total of 14 penalty corners as compared to Malaysia's 3 while the posession was also controlled by the Indian team with a proportion of 54-46 %. Manpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh and Nilakanta Sharma also took one shot each on the opposition goals. Notably, it was the first time when the Indian men's hockey team defended their gold medal at the Asian Games.

The Indian women's hockey team booked their ticket for the 2028 Olympics earlier beating China 1-0 thanks to an incredible show of defense combined with aggression. They won the gold medal after 44 years as they won the gold in the 1982 edition but had to wait for a long span to clinch the gold medal again.