Gold medallists in men’s hockey at Asiad:
1958 (Tokyo) — Pakistan
1962 (Jakarta) — Pakistan
1966 (Bangkok) — India
1970 (Bangkok) — Pakistan
1974 (Tehran) — Pakistan
1978 (Bangkok) — Pakistan
1982 (New Delhi) — Pakistan
1986 (Seoul) — South Korea
1990 (Beijing) — Pakistan
1994 (Hiroshima) — South Korea
1998 (Bangkok) — India
2002 (Busan) — South Korea
2006 (Doha) — South Korea
2010 (Guangzhou) — Pakistan
2014 (Incheon) — India
2018 (Jakarta) — Japan
2022 (Hangzhou) — India
2026 (Aichi-Nagoya) — India
Kakamigahara: India defended the gold medal in men’s hockey after a strong 4-1 win over Malaysia in the Asian Games 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.
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 2002. The country has claimed bronze medals in 1986, 2010, and 2018. IANS
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