Captain Harmanpreet Singh rose to the occasion with a brace as a dominant India thrashed Malaysia 5-1 to clinch the men’s hockey gold for the second time in the Asian Games and book a 2028 Olympics berth here on Saturday.

The men’s team’s gold came a day after the women defeated higher-ranked defending champions China 1-0 in the final to clinch the title after 44 years and also book an Olympic spot. This is the first time that both the men and women have finished on top in the same edition of the continental showpiece.

Hockey India announced a Rs. 11 Lakh reward for the players and a Rs. 5.5 Lakh prize for support staff of the side.

This comes after HI President announced an increase in rewards for the side for their performance after watching their run in Aichi Nagoya.

“Afte 24 years, India has won gold in women’s hockey. They last won in the 1982 edition. Today, they beat China, in what was a brilliant performance, to clinch gold. I want to congratulate every single player and staff member of the Indian women’s hockey team. Earlier, Hockey India had announced a cash reward of Rs. 10 Lakh for each player. But after seeing their performance, we have increased that by Rs. 1 Lakh. I thank Odisha Government and the Sports Ministry for their support. Many congratulations to the team for securing a spot in the 2028 LA Olympics as well,” Tirkey said a day earlier.

Published on Oct 04, 2026