India’s women’s hockey team beat the defending champions, China, 1-0 in the final of the 2026 Asian Games to win the gold medal for the first time in 44 years. The victory also gives India a direct place at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
The match
The final was played at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium in Kakamigahara, Japan. The only goal came from Lalremsiami. The captain, Salima Tete, won the ball just outside the scoring area and released her inside the Chinese circle, and the forward finished.
India then defended the lead through repeated Chinese penalty corners. Tete, running out first to charge down the shots, was at the centre of that effort until a finger injury forced her off midway through the third quarter.
Why it matters
- First since 1982: India’s only previous women’s hockey gold at the Asian Games came in New Delhi in 1982, the first time the women’s event was held.
- Olympic place: The team qualifies directly for Los Angeles 2028. India’s women failed to qualify for the Paris Games in 2024, a low point from which this side has been rebuilt.
- Beating the holders: China won the title at Hangzhou in 2023 and were silver medallists at the Paris Olympics.
The coach
ESPN described the win as coach Sjoerd Marijne’s “miracle”. The Dutchman led India’s women to fourth place at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, their best Olympic finish,.
What they said
Salima Tete said after the match that the team “fully deserved” the gold medal, according to India.com.
A double
The men’s team won their final 5-1 against Malaysia at the same stadium, giving India both hockey titles at an Asian Games for the first time.
Match details are as reported by Olympics.com, ESPN and Hockey India.
Image: The Indian women’s hockey team in 2019 (file photo). Photo by Government of Odisha, licensed under CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.