With the victory, India qualified for the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 to be hosted by the Netherlands and Belgium

Ask the majority of Indians, “What did India achieve this year in sports?” and they will mention all about India’s glories in cricket. However, many may not be aware that India’s hockey team won the Asia Cup this year, ending an eight-year drought. It is disappointing that, despite hockey being the nation’s de facto national sport (not an official one), with a rich history and cultural significance, the majority doesn’t bat an eye at it.

Therefore, as the year comes to an end, here’s a recap of Indian hockey’s Asia Cup 2025 campaign.

Hosted by Bihar

 

Held at the Bihar Sports University Hockey Stadium in the Rajgir Sports Complex, the tournament took place from August 29 to September 7. The tournament saw South Korea enter as defending champions, whereas for India, a victory was crucial to the team’s qualification for next year’s World Cup. Two teams, PAK and Oman, withdrew, citing security and financial concerns, respectively.

 

India in Pool A

India kicked off its campaign against the PRC with a 4-3 victory. The game witnessed a hat-trick of goals from Harmanpreet Singh’s stick, whereas Jugraj Singh also scored one goal.

(Credit- GQ India)

The Men in Blue won the second game against Japan as well, 3-2, thanks to goals from Harmanpreet Singh and Mandeep Singh. In the third match, India ran riot against Kazakhstan, scoring 15 goals in a game that saw three hat-tricks from Abhishek Nain, Sukhjeet Singh, and Jugraj Singh.

With three victories and nine points in the bag, India topped Pool A and proceeded to the Super Four round.

India with 15 goals

In the first match of the Super Four round, India met defending champions South Korea. Unlike the first three matches, which did not pose much of a challenge, South Korea was a different ball game altogether, against whom India could not find a winner and settled for a draw.

(Credit- NDTV)

Fortunately, India repeated its victory against the PRC with a scoreline of 7-0 and another against Malaysia, which helped India top the Super Four round and proceed to the tournament final.

On the other end, defending champion South Korea joined India after wins against PRC and Malaysia.

The showdown

India learnt from its first game against South Korea, and in this rematch, the Men in Blue followed the right tactics, preventing South Korea from scoring. The Indian attackers, on the other hand, scored four goals from the sticks of Sukhjeet Singh, Dilpreet Singh, and Amit Rohidas.

(Credit- Outlook India)

On the eve of September 7, 2025, India brought back the Asia Cup after an eight-year trophy drought.

As the year comes to an end, we hope our citizens will support India in next year’s World Cup, as our women’s cricketers did this year in the ODI World Cup.