Captain Harmanpreet Singh got his second, and India’s 5th goal in the 59th minute of the match and finally allowed himself a smile. The result was sealed, gold assured and an Olympic ticket confirmed as the Indian men’s hockey team registered an emphatic 5-1 win against defending champion Japan to reclaim the Asian Games title in Hangzhou on October 6.
Harmanpreet’s brief smile expressed several emotions in that second — pride, happiness but most importantly, relief. The title win assured the Indian team will now have the rest of the period up to the 2024 Olympics to prepare for it without worrying about the qualification process or planning around the qualifiers. With the likes of Belgium, Germany and Britain yet to qualify, the qualifiers would be a slippery road the team has done well to avoid.
