India beat Malaysia 5-1 in the Asian Games men's hockey final in Kakamigahara, defending the title and qualifying for the 2028 Olympics. Captain Harmanpreet Singh scored twice.
India beat Malaysia 5-1 on Saturday to defend the men's hockey gold medal at the Asian Games in Kakamigahara and qualify directly for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, The Hindu and The Indian Express reported.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh scored in the 11th and 57th minutes. Jugraj Singh, Hardik Singh and Shilanand Lakra also scored. Malaysia's Shello Silverius scored in the 14th minute, an Indian news agency account carried by the Indian Economic Observer said. Harmanpreet finished as the tournament's top scorer with 12 goals. India had 14 penalty corners to Malaysia's two.
The win was India's fifth Asian Games men's hockey gold, after 1966, 1998, 2014 and 2022. Indian Express said the men's and women's teams won gold together for the first time and that India moved to fourth on the medal table.
The Hindu's day brief also recorded a separate men's cricket final, a 19-run win over Pakistan, as part of the same Saturday medal haul. Those are distinct events.
Olympic qualification through the Asian title gives the men's program a fixed place at Los Angeles 2028. Official medal-table updates were still being published by games organizers as India's tally climbed.