India reaches Asian Games women’s hockey final

AICHI-NAGoya India reached the women’s hockey final of the Asian Games 2026 after defeating South Korea 2-0 in the semifinal on Wednesday. The victory secured India’s place in the gold-medal match, where it will face China. The contest remained goalless through the first half, with neither side able to break the deadlock. India finally moved ahead in the 43rd minute when Ishika converted a penalty corner to give her team the lead. India extended its advantage four minutes later in the 47th minute. Salima Tete sent a cross into the circle, and the ball took a deflection from a South Korean defender’s stick before finding the net. India then protected its two-goal lead for the remainder of the match to complete a 2-0 victory. The semifinal win puts India into the final against China, with the gold medal now at stake. The result gave India a place in the gold-medal contest after a controlled second half. The final will determine India’s medal colour in the women’s event overall. South Korea could not respond after India scored twice within four minutes. India’s defence maintained the advantage without conceding, ensuring the semifinal ended with a clean 2-0 scoreline. Meanwhile, India’s men’s doubles campaign ended without a medal for the first time since 1998, as both pairs were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Anirudh Chandrasekar and N Balaji lost a closely fought three-set match to China’s Jiang Fumin and Zhang Tianhui, going down 7-6(4), 6-7(7), 8-10. Yuki Bhambri and Dhakshineswar Suresh also exited after a 6-7(5), 3-6 defeat against Chinese Taipei’s Ho Chen-jui and Hsu Yu-hsiou. Their exits ended India’s hopes of a men’s doubles medal and extended the wait dating back to 1998.