Harmanpreet Singh first Indian captain to win consecutive Asian Games hockey golds

Harmanpreet Singh became the first Indian captain to lead the men's hockey team to back-to-back Asian Games golds when India defeated Malaysia 5-1 in the Asian Games 2026 final on October 3 at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium in Kakamigahara, Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. He scored two goals in the final.

India’s Aichi-Nagoya triumph followed the nation’s gold at the Hangzhou 2022 Games, producing consecutive men’s hockey titles for the country. Harmanpreet had captained the side that beat Japan 5-1 in the Hangzhou 2022 final.

In the gold-medal match against Malaysia, India produced a commanding performance with goals from Jugraj Singh, Hardik Singh and Shilanand Lakra alongside Harmanpreet’s brace to complete the 5-1 scoreline.

Across the Aichi-Nagoya tournament Harmanpreet finished with 12 goals, placing him level with Pakistan’s Sufyan Khan as the competition’s joint top scorer.

Reflecting after the final, Harmanpreet said: “That’s a responsibility. When you get the opportunity, you just need to finish it with the goal. And that is in my mind during the match.” He added: “Overall, we played well. We got so many opportunities. Especially defence-wise. We played very well; that’s why we got the result.”

With the Aichi-Nagoya victory India secured consecutive men’s hockey golds at the Asian Games, becoming only the second nation after Pakistan to achieve back-to-back titles in the continental tournament.