India beat Malaysia 5-1 to retain Asian Games men's hockey gold and book 2028 LA Olympics berth

Key facts

• India defeated Malaysia 5-1 in the men's hockey final at the 2026 Asian Games on October 3, 2026, winning back-to-back gold medals.
• For the first time in Asian Games history, the Indian men's hockey team successfully defended its gold medal, and with this win they qualified for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
• Harmanpreet Singh scored a brace, while Jugraj Singh, Shilanand Lakra and Hardik Singh scored one goal each for India.
• Shello Silverius scored Malaysia's goal in the final, with the teams level at 1-1 at half-time before India pulled away.
• This was India's 21st gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games and the second hockey gold of the edition, moving the Indian contingent to fourth in the medal tally.
• India reached the final with a 4-3 win over Pakistan, while Malaysia beat South Korea 2-1 in the semifinals.
• Pakistan took the bronze medal by beating South Korea 5-3, their first Asian Games hockey medal since 2014, when they won silver.
• Earlier, the Indian women's hockey team defeated China to win gold after 44 years and sealed a place at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
• Jugraj Singh's goal in the final was his seventh of the 2026 Asian Games.
• Harmanpreet Singh's second goal in the final was his 11th of the tournament.
• India chief coach Craig Fulton and Malaysia head coach Brendon Carolan both represented South Africa as players, and when Fulton became head coach of the Irish men's team in 2014, he appointed Carolan as his assistant coach and tactical analyst.
• Manpreet Singh, India's most capped player, could stand as the only Indian to win three Asian Games gold medals, after 2014 and 2023.