India women end 44-year wait
The Indian women were even more prolific during the pool stage, scoring 66 goals and conceding only three across five victories.
Their campaign began with a 19-0 win over Uzbekistan before a 17-1 victory against Indonesia. India then registered the highest-scoring match of either hockey tournament at Aichi-Nagoya, beating Thailand 20-1.
The tougher tests followed, but India maintained their perfect record with a 3-1 win against Japan and a 7-0 victory over Singapore to top Pool B.
India beat South Korea 2-0 in the semi-finals to set up a title clash with China, who had not conceded a single goal during the pool stage and then edged hosts Japan in a shootout in the semi-finals.
The final was considerably tighter than India’s earlier matches.
Lalremsiami Hmarzote scored the only goal as India defeated China 1-0 to win their first Asian Games women’s hockey title since New Delhi 1982.
The victory also secured India a women’s hockey quota for LA 2028 and reversed the result from Hangzhou 2023, where China had won the title.
Hosts Japan took bronze after beating South Korea in a shootout.
Asian Games 2026 women’s hockey teams and groups
Pool A: China, South Korea, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Chinese Taipei, Bangladesh
Pool B: India, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Uzbekistan
Asian Games 2026 women’s hockey matches, scores and results
Source: www.olympics.com
