The Indian men’s hockey team created history by winning the Asian Games gold medal for a fourth time following a comprehensive 5-1 victory over Japan in the final on October 6.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh scored a PC brace for the Indians while Amit Rohidas too found a goal off a drag flick. Manpreet Singh and Abhishek scored from open play, with Seren Tanaka finding a lone consolation goal for the Japanese.
The Indians last won gold at the Incheon Asian Games in 2014 but went down in the semi-finals to Malaysia at Jakarta in 2018.
Despite the final scoreline signifying a comfortable win for the Indians, Craig Fulton’s team failed to create too many chances during the course of a tight and cagey first quarter.
Both teams refused to loosen up near the backlines preferring to test the other out in midfield before the contest opened up a wee bit in the second quarter.
Manpreet Singh’s 25th-minute goal ensured that the Indians went into the long breather with a one-goal lead, with Japan very much in the contest.
The complexion of the game changed quickly in the third quarter. Harmanpreet Singh found the back of the net immediately after half-time with a trademark drag flick before Amit Rohidas scored off a PC four minutes later.
Unable to find a PC or manufacture a meaningful shot on goal, the Japanese conceded a fourth goal in the 48th minute, which sealed the deal for the Men in Blue.
Seren Tanaka finally managed to pull one back for the Japanese who earned a PC in the 50th minute but Akira Takahashi’s team were unable to break down the Indian deep defence.
Harmanpreet Singh scored his 13th goal of the competition with a PC strike at the death as the Indians rounded off an astoundingly dominant run in Hangzhou.
Bangkok, Incheon, Hangzhou – Indian hockey’s golden run at the Asian Games
After a couple of losses against arch-rivals Pakistan, the Indians first won an Asian Games gold in Bangkok in 1966.
Four back-to-back defeats to Pakistan followed with the Indians going down to the Men in Green in the 1990 Beijing Games as well.
Goalkeeper Ashish Ballal emerged as the hero for the Indians who beat South Korea in a penalty shootout at Bangkok in 1998 after a loss to the Koreans at Hiroshima in 1994.
After a 16-year wait, the Indians beat Pakistan in the shootout at Incheon in 2014 to win their third gold.
Harmanpreet Singh and company have ensured that the Indians find a direct berth in the Paris Olympics thanks to their historic fourth gold-medal win in Hangzhou.
Pakistan have won eight gold medals in the Asiad men’s hockey competition, while South Korea have won four.
