India beat Malaysia 5-1 to retain Asian Games hockey gold and book Olympic berth

India’s men’s hockey team retained the Asian Games gold medal by beating Malaysia 5-1 in the final at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium in Japan. According to The Sunday Guardian, it was India’s fifth men’s Asian Games hockey title and the first time the team has successfully defended the crown. The win also secured direct qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the same report said.

Harmanpreet Singh gave India the lead from a penalty corner in the first quarter. The Sunday Guardian reported that Malaysia equalised early, but the report did not name their scorer. Jugraj Singh restored India’s advantage in the second quarter with a drag-flick from another penalty corner, and Hardik Singh converted a penalty stroke to make it 3-1. Business Standard placed that goal in the 42nd minute.

Shilanand Lakra then scored India’s first field goal of the final to make it 4-1. Harmanpreet completed the scoring with a penalty-corner goal late in the fourth quarter, his second of the match, which Business Standard timed at the 58th minute. Four of India’s five goals therefore came from set pieces, though neither report offered an assessment of the team’s open play.

The gold came after a difficult summer. Outlook reported that India finished eighth at the 2026 men’s World Cup, which was staged in Belgium and the Netherlands. The team lost all three of its second-round matches, against the Netherlands, Argentina and England, and then lost the seventh-place match to Belgium on penalties. Before the Asian Games, Outlook quoted India coach Craig Fulton as saying that for the team it was “now about action”.

The same preview had pointed out that a strong showing in Japan would bring automatic qualification for Los Angeles, which made the tournament more significant than a regional title alone. India began its campaign against Indonesia on 20 September, and Outlook identified Japan and South Korea as the toughest opponents in the group stage.

Hockey was one of several team sports in which India stood on the top step. Outlook’s wrap-up of the Games said cricket, hockey and kabaddi each produced two golds for India, one through the men and one through the women. The men’s cricket team also retained its title by beating Pakistan by 19 runs in its final, according to The Sunday Guardian. India finished fourth in the overall medal table with 85 medals, including 21 golds. On the same day as the hockey final, Aman Sehrawat won the men’s 57kg freestyle wrestling gold by beating North Korea’s Chong Song 11-7, Business Standard reported.