India’s women’s hockey team are one win away from ending a 44-year wait for Asian Games gold. On Friday, they face defending champions China in the final in Kakamigahara, with the title and a place at the LA 2028 Olympics on the line.
India last won the Asian Games title in 1982, when women’s hockey made its debut at the continental event. Since then, they have reached the final twice, in 1998 and 2018, but returned with silver medals after losing to South Korea and Japan respectively.
This time, India head into the final with plenty of confidence behind them. Salima Tete and her team were unstoppable in Pool B, winning all five matches and scoring 66 goals. They opened with a 19-0 win over Uzbekistan, followed it with a 17-1 victory against Indonesia and then put 20 goals past Thailand.
India also beat hosts Japan 3-1 before finishing the group stage with a 7-0 win over Singapore.
The semi-final against South Korea was a much tougher examination. India had to be patient as the Koreans kept their attacking players under control for long periods. Ishika finally broke the deadlock late in the third quarter before captain Salima Tete struck again in the fourth to secure a 2-0 win.
“For us it was really important to stay calm and have patience, and I think we did that really well,” India chief coach Sjoerd Marijne said after the match.
China have been just as impressive on their way to the final. The defending champions won all five of their Pool A matches without conceding a goal, scoring 46 times. They beat Bangladesh 13-0, Chinese Taipei 10-0, Malaysia 4-0, South Korea 3-0 and Kazakhstan 16-0.
Their semi-final against hosts Japan, however, was a different story. China could not find a way through during regulation time as the match ended 0-0. They eventually won the shootout 4-2 to book their place in the final.
World No. 4 China will pose India’s biggest challenge of the tournament, but Marijne believes his side have reasons to be confident. “We have confidence, but we also realise that China is a very good team. They are still No. 4 in the world,” he said.
“We did really well at the World Cup, better than them, but still they have a lot of experience.”
India and China have already met once this year. Their World Cup clash in Amsterdam ended in a 2-2 draw, with Navneet Kaur and Deepika Sehrawat scoring for India.
Deepika has been India’s biggest attacking threat at the Asian Games. She leads the tournament’s scoring charts with 21 goals, including 19 from penalty corners. Navneet has added 10 goals, while Rutuja Pisal has scored seven.
Deepika’s role has been more limited in India’s last two matches, with the forward spending considerable time on the bench. India will hope she can return to her best when the biggest match of their campaign arrives.
China have their own scoring threat in Zhong Jiaqi, who has nine goals in the tournament. Chen Yi and Zhang Ying have scored seven each.
The final brings together the only two teams to win all five of their pool matches. Neither side has lost in the tournament, although China have the better defensive record, having yet to concede in regulation time.
China also have a strong recent record at the Asian Games. They have won four of the last six women’s hockey titles, including gold at Hangzhou 2023.
India’s only Asian Games triumph came in 1982. Their two subsequent final appearances ended in silver, with South Korea beating them in 1998 and Japan winning in 2018.
The head-to-head record is also narrowly in China’s favour. The teams have met 28 times, with China winning 12 matches, India 11 and five ending in draws.
But history and head-to-head records will count for little when the two teams walk out in Kakamigahara.
For India, this is an opportunity to win their first Asian Games women’s hockey title in 44 years. And with Olympic qualification also at stake, Friday’s final carries an added significance.
WHERE TO WATCH WOMEN’S HOCKEY FINAL IN INDIA?
The India vs China women’s hockey final at the Asian Games 2026 will be played at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium in Kakamigahara, Japan, on Friday.
The match will be streamed live on Sony LIV in India. The final will also be telecast live on Sony Sports 2 and Sony Sports 5. Regional-language coverage will be available on Sony Sports 3 in Hindi and Sony Sports 4 in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.
– Ends
Source link
[ad_3]
