India men’s hockey team will look to defend their gold medal at the Asian Games 2026 and secure an automatic qualification berth for the LA Olympics 2028.
Published: September 16, 2026, 4:01 PM IST
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India men hockey team had won the gold medal at Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou(Source: X)
Asian Games 2026: The India men’s hockey team will look to create history at the Asian Games 2026 as they look to defend their gold medal at Aichi-Nagoya in Japan later this weekThe men’s hockey team have been drawn in Group A along with hosts Japan, South Korea, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and IndonesiaHarmanpreet Singh’s side will open their Asian Games 2026 campaign against the Indonesians on September 20 followed by matches against Sri Lanka (Sept 22), South Korea (Sept 24), Japan (Sept 26) and Bangladesh (Sept 28).
While the women’s team ended the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 with a creditable 5th place, the men’s team disappointed with an 8th place finishWinning the gold medal becomes crucial for both men’s and women’s team as it will assure them of a berth in the Los Angeles Olympics 2028.
Indian team had managed to achieve this feat at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou by securing the gold medal but they have never managed to win back-to-back golds in this tournament in their historyIndia men’s team have 4 gold medals at the Asian Games – in 1966, 1998, 2014 and finally in 2023.
In addition to this, Hockey India has been going through a period of upheaval in recent times with their Director General being fired by Dilip Tirkey recentlySo Indian hockey legend Viren Rasquinha believes India’s path to the gold medal in Japan will be far from easy.
“In terms of all the administrative issues happening, yes, I think that is definitely a turbulent periodBut as players, I think part of the skill sets required to play for your country when you represent Indian hockey is to be able to really focus on what is your job as a player, and not be distracted by off-field events,” Rasquinha told India.com in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.
“This is, of course, not an ideal situation, but I think all our players are experienced and good enough to be able to compartmentalize what is the role of the administration and what is their role as players,” Rasquinha felt.
Rasquinha, who won the silver medal in the 2002 Asian Games, feels men’s hockey team can’t take anything for granted as ‘one bad day’ can spoil everything“The men’s team have a lot to work on because for all of us as hockey fans, the expectations have been very highRightly so, after the last two Olympic bronze medals and Asian Games gold medal last time, so we all expect a lot.
“We are favorites for gold in men’s hockeyBut in international sport, one bad day can really spoil things, as we saw in the 2018 Asian games, when we had a bad day in the semi-finals and we lost,” he recalled.
India women’s hockey team, in comparison, ended up with a bronze medal in the 2023 and had last won a gold in the 1982 Asian Games in DelhiBut Rasquinha believes it a ‘golden chance’ for both men’s and women’s team to secure an automatic Olympics berth.
“I think this is a golden chance for both teams, men and women, to secure automatic Olympic qualificationBelieve me, it makes such a huge difference in the preparation, because then you’re freed from the burden of going through the Olympic qualification process, which can get really bumpy, and full of tension and stressIf you seal qualification now, it’s a major boost to our preparations for LA 28 Olympics,” the 46-year-old hockey legend said.
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The Asian Games 2026 are almost here! Team India is gearing up to step onto the continental stage in Aichi-Nagoya
️ September 19 – October 4
Aichi-Nagoya, Japan#HockeyIndia… pic.twitter.com/ZZgE2KIYZf— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) September 16, 2026
Neeraj Chopra would have been sure-shot medallist: Viren Rasquinha
Indian ended up 107 medals including 28 gold in their Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou – a record-breaking show in the tournamentBut Rasquinha believes that the tally might be a little less in Japan this time around with two-time Olympics medallist Neeraj Chopra ruled out due to injury and compound archery unlikely to produce as many medals.
“I think there are around three disciplines which are not there in Japan which produced about six medals for usThen, of course, Neeraj isn’t there, and you would normally consider him a top medal prospect, really fighting for gold in any competition that he goes toUnfortunately, Neeraj isn’t there as well, and we all wish him well for his recovery.
“Compound archery team did really wellI think they won 3 gold medals or soI feel that might be difficult to replicateIndia finished with 28 gold medals and South Korea had 42 gold medalsI would love to see that gap in gold medals getting bridged between India and South Korea,” Rasquinha said.
‘Ultimate goal should be to win Olympics gold for men’s hockey’
Rasquinha, who was part of 2004 Athens Olympics squad, was disappointed by the general standard of hockey from the Asian countries in the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 last month“India was the only team in the top 10Pakistan finished 11th, Japan finished 14th, Malaysia finished 16th and lastSouth Korea did not even qualifyChina did not even qualify in the Men’s World Cup.
“When you compare to world standards, Asian hockey is currently really down, as opposed to when I was playing when India, Pakistan, Korea were all in the top 6 in the world,” Rasquinha felt.
“We should not be satisfied with winning an Asian Games gold medalFor me, that is not the ultimate goalFor me, the ultimate goal for Indian men’s hockey is always to win the gold medal at the Olympics and I think we have to credit the government for putting massive,” Rasquinha added.
(Watch Asian Games 2026 live and exclusive on Sony Sports Network and Sony LIV)
