Asian Games: Olympic berth, gold in sight as Indian women face China in hockey final

The Indian women’s hockey team is one win away from ending their 44-year wait for Asian Games gold. They face defending champions China in the final in Kakamigahara on Friday, with the title and a place at the LA 2028 Olympics at stake.

India last won the Asian Games title in 1982 when women’s hockey debuted 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.

This time India is going into the final with a lot of confidence behind it. Salima Tete and her team were unstoppable in Pool B, winning all five matches and scoring 66 goals. They started with a 19-0 win over Uzbekistan, followed it up with a 17-1 victory against Indonesia and then kicked 20 goals past Thailand.

India also beat hosts Japan 3-1 and completed the group stage with a 7-0 win over Singapore.

The semi-final against South Korea was a much tougher test. India had to be patient as the Koreans kept their attacking players in check 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.

“It was really important for us to stay calm and be patient and I think we did really well,” India head coach Sjoerd Marijne said after the match.

China were equally impressive on their way to the final. The defending champions have won all five of their Group 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.

However, their semi-final against hosts Japan was a different matter. China couldn’t find a way through regulation time as the match ended 0-0. In the end, they won the shootout 4-2 and secured their place in the final.

World No. 4 China will pose India’s biggest challenge of the tournament, but Marijne believes his side have reason to be confident. “We have confidence, but we also realize 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 was India’s biggest attacking threat at the Asian Games. With 21 goals, including 19 from penalty corners, he leads the tournament’s scorers table. Navneet added 10 goals while Rutuja Pisal 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 be hoping to get back to their best come the biggest match of their campaign.

China have a goal threat of their own in Zhong Jiaqi, who has nine goals in the tournament. Chen Yi and Zhang Ying scored seven each.

The final will bring together the only two teams to win all five pool matches. Neither side is unbeaten in the tournament, although China have the better defensive record, having yet to concede in regular time.

China also has 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 finals 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 favor. The teams have met 28 times, with China winning 12 matches, India 11 and five ending in draws.

However, when the two teams go to Kakamighara, history and each other’s records will carry little weight.

It is an opportunity for India to win their first women’s hockey title at the Asian Games in 44 years. And since Olympic qualification is also at stake, Friday’s final has added significance.

WHERE TO WATCH WOMEN’S HOCKEY FINAL IN INDIA?

India Women’s Hockey Final Vs. China at the 2026 Asian Games will be played on Friday at the Gifu Prefecture Green Stadium in Kakamigahara, Japan.

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.

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