Asian Games: India men aim to defend hockey gold, women look to carry momentum

Kakamigahara: The Indian men’s and women’s hockey teams will kick off their respective campaigns at the Asian Games 2026 on Sunday, seeking strong results after contrasting World Cup performances.

The Indian men’s team, pitted in Pool A, will start their gold-medal defence against Indonesia at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium in Kakamigahara after a lowly eighth-place finish in the World Cup 2026. The women’s team will be in action against Uzbekistan at the same venue in its opening Pool B outing after a strong World Cup campaign.

There is an added incentive for the sport at the Asian Games, with gold medal winners securing their tickets for the 2028 Olympics, a prospect that will be in mind for both the Harmanpreet Singh-led men’s and Salima Tete-led women’s sides.

The Indian men’s team could not progress to the semifinals in the recent World Cup and finished a disappointing eighth, as they look to iron out the flaws from that campaign at the Asiad, with coach Craig Fulton highlighting the same.

“These are lessons, and the only way to treat them as lessons learned is to turn that learning into action. That’s what we’ve got to do now. We’ve discussed everything, gone through everything and highlighted areas needing improvement. At the same time, it’s now about action,” said Fulton, as quoted by Hockey India.

Indian men are four-time gold medallists at the continental showpiece, having won the yellow metal in 1966, 1998, 2014 and 2022. They are also the reigning two-time Olympic bronze medallists and would like to secure a ticket for the Los Angeles Games as soon as possible.

They are placed in Pool A alongside Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and will face tests against fellow four-time gold winners South Korea and 2018 champions Japan.

The Indian women will be looking to carry forward the momentum from the 2026 World Cup, where they secured their best finish in 52 years by finishing fifth, despite not making it to the semi-finals.

India women’s coach Marijne reflected on the World Cup campaign but has now kept his focus on the Asiad. “We did something remarkable and historical, but we have to move on to the next tournament… You have to close a chapter before you move to the next one,” said Marijne.

The women’s team won its only gold at the 1982 Asiad and has a recent bronze from the Hangzhou 2023 Games. They also achieved a historic fourth place at the 2020 Olympics but failed to qualify for the 2024 Paris Games.

An Olympic qualification will be a priority for India’s women, but they will face tough competition from China, who are four-time gold medallists, the defending Asian Games champion, and the reigning Olympic silver medallists.

The Indian women’s team is placed in Pool B alongside Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and Singapore.

When will the Indian men’s and women’s team play their openers?

The Indian women’s team will be in action against Uzbekistan on Sunday at 7:30 AM IST at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium. The men’s team will face Indonesia in their Pool A opener on Sunday at 11:30 AM IST at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium.

IANS