India’s men’s hockey team defeated Japan in a decisive 5-1 victory to recapture the Asian Games gold.

India’s men’s hockey team defeated Japan in a decisive 5-1 victory to recapture the Asian Games gold.

Japan/ Beuro

India also secured a place in next year’s Paris Olympics with the win in the final against Japan.

Five years after suffering a semi-final loss, the Indian men’s hockey team won the coveted gold medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou when Harmanpreet Singh’s squad defeated the defending champions Japan 5-1 on Friday. India won their previous men’s hockey gold medals in 1966 and 1998, both in Bangkok, making this their first since the 2014 competition in Incheon. Overall, the men’s hockey team’s victory over Japan gave India its 22nd gold medal.

Harmanpreet Singh (32nd, 59th minutes) scored a brace through penalty corners, Amit Rohidas (36th) also sounded the board from a set-piece, while Manpreet Singh (25th) and Abhishek (48th) found the net from field efforts to register the famous victory for India. Seren Tanaka converted a penalty corner for Japan in the 51st minute for their only goal of the match.

Japan, meanwhile, also had an impressive record in the tournament with the 2-4 defeat against India being their only loss before the final.

Japan defeated Bangladesh 7-2 and then followed it up with a 10-1 win over Uzbekistan. After a 2-4 loss to India, Japan bounced back with a 16-0 win over Singapore and a 3-2 win over Pakistan to reach the semis. Japan defeated the hosts China 3-2 to secure a spot in the final.