Hockey booked Los Angeles. Cricket beat Pakistan. India’s team sports had a day

India’s final day at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games yielded two men’s team golds, but the results were far from equal in stature.

First, India’s men’s hockey team beat Malaysia 5-1 to retain its Asian Games title and qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Hours later, its men’s cricket team beat Pakistan by 19 runs to defend its Asian Games gold. But the results’ significance cannot be compared.

Hockey’s gold was also a ticket to Los Angeles

India’s men’s hockey team’s final was not only a test of its continental supremacy — it also served as a qualifier for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The Asian Games men’s hockey champion has a direct qualification place for the 2028 Olympics. That meant the match against Malaysia was not only a final but also a race for qualification.

India fulfilled both roles, beating Malaysia 5-1 in the final in Kakamigahara. The result marked a new milestone for Indian men’s hockey. Winning the title in Hangzhou meant defending its Asian Games crown for the first time, with its fifth men’s hockey gold.

The final was not always as one-sided as the result suggested. Captain Harmanpreet Singh scored first through a penalty corner, but Malaysia equalised. Jugraj Singh then gave India the lead before Hardik Singh made it 3-1. Shilanand Lakra added another, before Harmanpreet added a second, to finish 5-1.

India had faced a much closer test in the semi-final, beating Pakistan 4-3 to make the final. That makes for two contrasting victories over the knockout stages — a tense semi-final win over Pakistan followed by the more comfortable final win over Malaysia. There was also another landmark result for Indian hockey at the Games.

A day earlier, the women’s team had beaten China 1-0 to win their first Asian Games title in 44 years. With Saturday’s win, India’s men’s and women’s hockey teams each finished the Games with a gold.

Then came Pakistan

The cricket final, however, was a different kind of test. India and Pakistan met for the men’s T20 gold at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin. India won the toss and batted first, posting 211 for six. It is the highest score of the tournament by any team.

Abhishek Sharma powered the innings, scoring 61 from 28 balls, hitting three fours and seven sixes. Tilak Varma was unbeaten on 51 from just 22 balls. Pakistan’s chase was largely helped by Hasan Nawaz.

The 19-year-old scored 96 from 51 balls with five fours and seven sixes. However, Pakistan lost wickets at crucial stages, and eventually finished on 192 for six. India won the game by 19 runs.

The result ensured India defended its men’s Asian Games cricket gold for the second successive year, after the team also won the Hangzhou 2023 title.

It was also a double gold-medal success for India in Aichi-Nagoya — the women’s team having won the women’s competition.

Speaking after the final, captain Shreyas Iyer said the occasion itself was a test. He admitted the team had had to avoid “getting overawed by the occasion”.

That is a fair summary of India’s cricket victory. It did not require anything extraordinary from India other than playing enough with the bat and sufficient control with the ball — just enough to stay ahead of Pakistan.

Two golds, two different consequences

That is why Saturday is a significant day for India in the region, the hockey victory has immediate impact on the team’s road to Los Angeles, but the cricket victory also has its own legacy.

India’s men’s hockey team, having won the Asian Games title, qualifies directly for the 2028 Olympics. India’s men’s cricket team victory serves to confirm its status as the defending Asian Games champions in the men’s category and the team has also won the women’s Asian Games title.

Together, the results underline the importance of team sports in India — the men’s and women’s hockey teams each winning gold, and the men’s and women’s cricket teams also winning gold. The two hockey teams won gold, but on the final day, the men’s teams supplied two contrasting victories that could not have been more different in character.

One was about securing the next Olympic destination. The other was about handling the pressure of an India-Pakistan final.

The medals will eventually become numbers in a table, but India’s team sports have each left behind two different markers.