Hardik Singh: "One of the most important achievements" after India retain Asian Games hockey gold

Hardik Singh, vice-captain of India’s men's hockey team, said India retained the Asian Games gold in Gifu on October 3, 2026, calling the victory "one of the most important achievements" following a difficult World Cup campaign. He described the squad as exhausted and proud after the final.

Singh said the World Cup setback cast a long shadow over the team and made the Asian Games mentally draining. "I think it was one of the most important achievements we can ever have, because of what happened at the World Cup," he said, adding that the team "had been working very hard from a very long time to do something at the World Cup and that didn’t go our way." He acknowledged off-field complications around accommodation and training but said the squad focused solely on winning gold.

Reflecting on the personal challenge of regaining enjoyment in the game after the World Cup, the 28-year-old recalled why he began playing. "I started hockey because I enjoyed it. That was my main target, to get back to enjoying the game and it was very difficult to find that joy again," he said, and noted the pressure of national expectations following the World Cup outcome.

Singh called this Asian Games the toughest he had experienced mentally, explaining the constant focus on consistency. "Personally, it was the hardest Asian tournaments I can ever be part of because physically, you can adjust but mentally, 24x7 the only thought in our minds was to be consistent here and win every match," he revealed.

Singh pointed out the historic nature of the win for the team and urged supporters to savour it. "This is the first time the Indian team won gold back-to-back, I only request everyone to enjoy this feeling," he smiled.

Coach Craig Fulton praised his players for their response after a tense semifinal against Pakistan and described the final as a disciplined performance against Malaysia. "We played a great game. We almost needed that semi-final to get into this mindset and I’m proud of the guys because the first half’s performance from Malaysia, they did really well. We stuck to our guns but they scored a world-class goal. Coming in 2-1 (at half time), it was tight and then our third quarter was immense and I think that was the difference. We played a very nice, soft-touch game today," he said.

Fulton said qualifying for the LA Olympics remained the season's main objective but that the Asian Games took priority regardless of the World Cup outcome. "Had we won the World Cup, we still would have had to come here and play and obviously the World Cup didn’t go the way we wanted it to so I’m glad we dominated in Asia, this was important for us," he accepted, adding that the close semi-final provided a necessary reality check: "We just had a good debrief. We were honest with the way we played and I think the occasion got to us a little bit... I’m glad we found a way to win that game because I think that helped us in this final."