Defending champion India has made it to the men’s hockey final of the Asian Games by defeating Pakistan in a thrilling semi-final. The Pakistani team, which was trailing for three quarters, made a comeback in the fourth quarter and leveled the score at 3-3. But Abhishek’s field goal in the last 47 seconds gave India a 4-3 victory and a strong entry into the final, where they will face Malaysia and It will be played by the winner of the second semi-final between South Korea.
Who scored goals for India when?
Abhishek (60th minute)
Sukhjeet (23 mins)
Harmanpreet Singh (5th and 13th minute)
For Pakistan, captain Abu Bakar scored the first goal on a penalty corner in the 30th minute while Shahid Hannan (45th) and Rana Wahid (49th) made the match exciting by scoring two goals within five minutes.
Both Indian teams in the final after 28 years
India had not lost against Pakistan since the final of the 2016 South Asian Games and this trend continued till now. This is the first time since the Bangkok Asian Games held in 1998, when both the Indian men’s and women’s teams have reached the finals of hockey. both teams Now we are just one win away from the final of the Asian Games and in such a situation the margin of error will be very less.
Harmanpreet has second most goals in Asian Games
Captain Harmanpreet Singh is now second after Pakistani Sufiyan Khan (11) in the list of highest scorer in the Asian Games 2026 by scoring 10 goals, his fellow forwards Abhishek and Dilpreet Singh are tied with 9 goals each. Harmanpreet’s drag flicks at penalty corners have been a constant weapon for India. India will have to maintain this strength in the final.
India will compete for gold medal by winning all the matches
This year, after finishing seventh in the World Cup, the Indian hockey team reached the finals in the Asian Games by winning all the matches. Harmanpreet Singh’s team finished on top in Pool A by winning all its five matches. India had registered a spectacular 13-1 victory over Indonesia in its first match, after which it defeated Sri Lanka 16-1. India won 8-2 against South Korea and then defeated hosts Japan 2-0 in what was their toughest match of the pool stage. India ended the group stage with an impressive 10–0 win over Bangladesh.
Hockey team avenged Pakistan’s defeat in volleyball
Earlier today, the Indian men’s volleyball team suffered a 0-3 defeat at the hands of arch-rival and higher-ranked Pakistan in the quarter-finals. In this way, the dream of a medal in the Asian Games after 40 years was also shattered. Indian players looked completely out of rhythm and lost 19-25, 23-25, 18-25 in the first quarter-final against Pakistan, ranked 38th in the world ranking, which lasted one hour and 22 minutes. India has also won two other medals at the Asian Games in men’s volleyball which are bronze in 1958 and silver in 1962.