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India beat Malaysia 5-1 to retain Asian Games men's hockey gold and book Los Angeles 2028 spot

Harmanpreet Singh scored twice in the final as India's women also took gold with a 1-0 win over China.

By , Sports news desk

· 1 min read

Graphic of a hockey stick and ball for India's Asian Games hockey golds
India won both hockey golds at the 2026 Asian Games. Photo: Apex Sports News graphic

India's men beat Malaysia 5-1 in the Asian Games hockey final on 3 October to retain their title and qualify directly for the 2028 Olympics. India's women also won gold, beating China 1-0.

Key takeaways

  • India beat Malaysia 5-1 in the men's final in Gifu on 3 October.
  • Captain Harmanpreet Singh scored twice; Jugraj Singh, Hardik Singh and Shilanand Lakra also scored.
  • The title gives India a direct place at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
  • India's women won their final 1-0 against China.

India retained their men's hockey title at the 2026 Asian Games with a 5-1 win over Malaysia in the final at Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium on 3 October. The gold also secures India a direct place at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, so they will not need to go through an Olympic qualifying tournament.

How the final unfolded

Captain Harmanpreet Singh opened the scoring in the 11th minute. Malaysia levelled through Shello Silverius three minutes later, but India took control from there. Jugraj Singh restored the lead in the 23rd minute, Hardik Singh added a third in the 42nd, Shilanand Lakra made it four in the 54th and Harmanpreet completed the scoring in the 57th.

The road to the final

India won all four Pool A games, beating Indonesia 13-1, Sri Lanka 16-1, South Korea 8-2 and hosts Japan 2-0. The semi-final was far tighter: India edged Pakistan 4-3 to reach the final, while Malaysia beat South Korea 2-1 in the other semi-final.

Women complete the double

A day earlier, India's women had won their own final, beating China 1-0, so India leave Japan with both hockey titles.

The men's team returns to action at the Asian Champions Trophy in Punjab, which starts on 27 October.

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