India reclaim Asian Games hockey gold with 5-1 drubbing of Japan, qualify for Paris Olympics
Hangzhou(PTI): Skipper Harmanpreet Singh led admirably as the Indian men's hockey team mauled defending champions Japan 5-1 to reclaim the Asian Games gold, their fourth in the continental showpiece, after nine years and qualify for next year's Paris Olympics here on Friday.
The Indians, who had to be content with a bronze medal in the last edition in Jakarta, thus won their fourth Asian Games gold and first since the 2014 Incheon edition.
India's other gold medals came in 1966 and 1998, both times in Bangkok.
South Korea won the bronze medal after eking out a close 2-1 win over hosts China.
Harmanpreet (32nd, 59th minutes) scored a brace through penalty corners, Amit Rohidas (36th) also sounded the board from a set-piece, while Manpreet Singh (25th) and Abhishek (48th) found the net from field efforts to register the famous victory for India.
Seren Tanaka converted a penalty corner for Japan in the 51st minutes.
Harmanpreet, thus, finished the tournament as India's top scorer with 13 goals, one ahead of striker Mandeep Singh.
The Indians, who ended the tournament unbeaten, were by far the better side against Japan, whom they had defeated 4-2 in the pool stages.
The Indians mostly used the flanks to great effect to build their attacks and also used down-the-line long balls to perfection.
The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists were quick to get off the blocks and made quite a few circle penetrations but failed to convert them into goals in the first quarter.
India played high-press hockey and constantly put the Japanese defence under pressure.
They got their first chance in the fifth minute but Lalit Upadhyay's deflection from a pass from the left flank was saved by Japanese goalkeeper Takumi Kitagawa.
The Indians kept on pressing hard and, in the process, secured their first penalty corner of the match but Harmanpreet's flick was brilliantly saved by an agile Kitagawa.
Two minutes into the second quarter, India earned another penalty corner but the variation didn't work as Rohidas's flick went over the post.
India continued their attacking hockey and finally took the lead in the 25th minute when Manpreet scored from a rebound with a powerful reverse hit from top of the circle after Abhishek's initial try, from close range, was saved by the Japanese goalkeeper.
Two minutes from half-time, India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh was alert in front of his goal and was perfectly placed to deny Japan's try, blocking the ball with his legs.
Two minutes into the second half, India secured three consecutive penalty corners and this time Harmanpreet was bang on target with the final attempt, sounding the board with a powerful drag-flick to the left of Kitagawa's extend left leg.
Minutes later, Rohidas tripled India's lead, finding the net with a powerful high flick that beat Japan goalkeeper Kitagawa all ends up.
Shamsher Singh then came close to registering his name in the score sheet only to be denied by Kitagawa.
It was complete domination by the Indians as three minutes into the fourth and final quarter Abhishek made the scoreline 4-0 from a tight angle after receiving a pass from vice-captain Hardik Singh.
With nothing to lose, Japan woke up in the last 10 minutes and secured two back-to-back penalty corners and Tanaka pulled one back.
Harmanpreet added salt to Japan's wounds when he converted his second penalty corner just a minute from the final hooter.
Goalkeeping stalwart PR Sreejesh indicated securing the Paris Olympic quota place with nearly 10 months to go for the global showpiece will give the team time to prepare properly.
"The main thing is we get a year to prepare for the Olympics, that's the best part. Secondly, it's a wake-up call. At the last Olympics we did a great job, then the Asian Championships, now the Asian Games," he said.
"Whenever we play at an Asian Games it always comes into our minds about it being a ticket to the Olympic Games. Japan put on a wonderful display. They made an effort to score more goals, which gave us control of the game."
He added that while India had a lot of exposure to European teams in the lead-up to the Asian Games, all continental teams were dangerous because they gave it their all on the field.
"All the Asian countries are here to win the tournament and get to Paris (Olympics). We definitely have more exposure playing against most of the European countries, but when it's on the field the (Asian teams) give 100 per cent," added Sreejesh.
Midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad said the team's strategy in all the matches here was to defend doggedly.
"Offence wins matches but defence wins you championships. That is our mantra and why we achieved what we did here," said Prasad.
India chief coach Craig Fulton said the team will test its Olympic preparations during Hockey Pro League season next year.
Asked whether India needed to raise its competitive level for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Fulton said, "No. That would come in time as you know the Pro League is in February, so that's the way we will test there."
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'Made in India' must become symbol of excellence, global competitiveness: PM
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called upon states to encourage manufacturing, boost 'ease of doing business' and strengthen the services sector to make India a global services giant.
Addressing the 5th National Conference of Chief Secretaries here, Modi emphasised the need for quality in governance, service delivery and manufacturing, and said the label 'Made in India' must become a symbol of excellence and global competitiveness.
He said India has the potential to become the world's food basket and the country must move towards high-value agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries to become a major food exporter.
"Called upon states to encourage manufacturing, boost 'Ease of Doing Business' and strengthen the services sector. Let us aim to make India a Global Services Giant," Modi said in a series of posts on X.
The theme of the three-day conference, which began on December 26, was 'Human Capital for Viksit Bharat'.
Modi observed that this conference marks another decisive step in strengthening the spirit of cooperative federalism and deepening Centre-State partnership to achieve the vision of a 'Viksit Bharat'.
Highlighting India's demographic advantage, he said nearly 70 per cent of the population is in the working-age group, creating a unique historical opportunity which, when combined with economic progress, can significantly accelerate the journey towards a 'Viksit Bharat', according to an official statement.
Modi said India has boarded the "Reform Express", driven primarily by the strength of its young population, and empowering this demographic remains the government's key priority.
He noted that the conference is being held at a time when the country is witnessing next-generation reforms and steadily moving towards becoming a major global economic power.
Underlining the need to strengthen 'atmanirbharta' (self-reliance), he said India must pursue self-reliance with zero defect in products and minimal environmental impact, making the label 'Made in India' synonymous with quality and strengthening the commitment to "zero effect, zero defect".
The PM urged the Centre and states to jointly identify 100 products for domestic manufacturing to reduce import dependence and strengthen economic resilience in line with the vision of 'Viksit Bharat'.
In higher education, too, he said, there is a need for academia and industry to work together to create high-quality talent.
He highlighted that India has a rich heritage and history with the potential to be among the top global tourist destinations.
Modi urged the states to prepare a roadmap for creating at least one global-level tourist destination and nourishing an entire tourist ecosystem.
He said it is important to align the national sports calendar with the global sports calendar.
"India is working to host the 2036 Olympics. India needs to prepare infrastructure and sports ecosystem at par with global standards," he said.
The prime minister said the next 10 years must be invested in the states, only then will India get the desired results in such sports events.
Every state must give this top priority and create infrastructure to attract global companies, he said.
In the services sector, Modi said, there should be greater emphasis on other areas like healthcare, education, transport, tourism, professional services and artificial intelligence, etc. to make India a global services giant.
He said India will soon be launching the National Manufacturing Mission (NMM).
States should work in tandem with the discussions and decisions emerging from the conferences of both chief secretaries and DGPs to strengthen governance and implementation.
The PM said similar conferences could be replicated at the departmental level to promote a national perspective among officers and improve governance outcomes in pursuit of a 'Viksit Bharat'.
In conclusion, he said every state must create a 10-year actionable plan based on the discussions of this conference with one, two, five and 10-year target timelines wherein technology can be utilised for regular monitoring.
The conference featured a series of special sessions that enabled focused deliberations on cross-cutting and emerging priorities.
It marks another important milestone in strengthening the Centre-State partnership through structured and sustained dialogue on national development priorities, according to the statement.
The PM's principal secretaries P K Mishra and Shaktikanta Das, Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan, members of the NITI Aayog, chief secretaries of all states and Union territories, and domain experts attended the meeting.
Anchored in the prime minister's vision of cooperative federalism, this conference serves as the forum where the Centre and states collaborate, designing a unified roadmap to maximise India's human capital potential and accelerate inclusive, future-ready growth.
It has been organised annually over the past four years.
The first conference was held in Dharamshala in June 2022, followed by subsequent conferences in New Delhi in January 2023, December 2023 and December 2024.
