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India Target Historic Asian Games Hockey Gold Against Malaysia
India and Malaysia will play for the Asian Games men’s hockey gold medal.
The match will be held on Saturday in Kakamigahara.
India is the defending champion and has not lost during the tournament.
Malaysia is also unbeaten and wants its first Asian Games gold medal.
India beat Pakistan 4-3 in a very close semifinal.
Malaysia beat South Korea 2-1 to reach the final.
If India wins, it will win back-to-back Asian Games gold medals for the first time.
The victory would also qualify India for the LA 2028 Olympic Games.
Both teams have skilled attackers, so the final could be decided by small mistakes.
India will face unbeaten Malaysia in Saturday’s men’s hockey gold-medal match at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026.
India defeated Pakistan 4-3 in a semifinal after surrendering a 3-0 lead.
Malaysia reached the final by beating South Korea 2-1 and is seeking its first Asian Games gold.
Victory would give India successive Asian Games titles and secure qualification for the LA 2028 Olympic Games.
Harmanpreet Singh, Abhishek and Dilpreet Singh lead India’s scoring, while Faizal Saari and Abu Kamal Azrai have powered Malaysia’s attack.
- Who
- The Indian and Malaysian men’s hockey teams, led by Harmanpreet Singh and their respective attacking players.
- What
- They will contest the Asian Games men’s hockey gold-medal match.
- Where
- Kakamigahara, at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026.
- When
- Saturday, one day after the semifinals.
- Why
- India is seeking a historic second consecutive Asian Games gold medal and LA 2028 Olympic qualification, while Malaysia is pursuing its first Asian Games title.
Key facts
- Final matchup
- India vs Malaysia
- India semifinal
- India defeated Pakistan 4-3 after leading 3-0 before Pakistan equalized.
- Malaysia semifinal
- Malaysia defeated South Korea 2-1.
- India’s tournament record
- India has remained unbeaten.
- Malaysia’s tournament record
- Malaysia topped Pool B with five consecutive victories and has remained unbeaten.
- Top Indian scorer
- Harmanpreet Singh has scored 10 goals from penalty corners.
- Other Indian scorers
- Abhishek and Dilpreet Singh have scored nine goals each.
- Malaysian scorers
- Faizal Saari and Abu Kamal Azrai have each scored nine goals.
Quotes
Craig Fulton
Chief coach of India’s men’s hockey team
“Malaysia have done well, had a good tournament so far, so it's going to be a nice match-up. We haven't played Malaysia for quite some time. I think the last time was at the Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai. (These are) two nice attacking teams, lots of skill, lots of flair, lots of speed.”
rediff.com
thehansindia.com
“We want to focus on just our own game plan, put our proactive mindset into the game and leave it all out there on the pitch.”
rediff.com
thehansindia.com
Sources
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