New Delhi: The way the Indian men’s hockey team was playing in the Hangzhou Asian Games, a gold medal was very much on the cards. Harmanpreet Singh & Co. didn’t disappoint, delivering the precious medal on Friday with a dominant 5-1 win over defending champions Japan in the final.
As Asian Games champions, India qualified automatically for next year’s Paris Olympics.
Odisha ace Amit Rohidas, who had scored in the semifinal victory over South Korea, was on target again in the gold-medal match, too, with a stinging drag flick off a penalty corner.
Skipper Harmanpreet Singh scored a brace with his typically powerful penalty-corner drag flicks, while Mandip Singh and Abhishek netted brilliant field goals.
The extent of India’s dominance in these Games can be gauged from the fact that they scored 68 goals in just 7 matches, including a record 10 against arch-rivals Pakistan.
It was India’s fourth Asian Games gold in men’s hockey. having earlier triumphed in 1966 and 1988 (both in Bangkok) and in 2014 (Incheon, South Korea).
India’s gold tally in Hangzhou Asian Games went up to 22, with their total medals tally climbing to 95.
