India has won the title of Under-18 Hockey Asia Cup 2026. In the final match played on Friday, Team India won the trophy by defeating Japan 4-1. Earlier in the semi-finals, India had defeated Pakistan 5-3 and entered the finals. This is the third time that India has won the Hockey Asia Cup at the Under-18 level. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Team India on this memorable victory.

Just as in the semi-finals, Ashish Purti had turned the tide of the match in the last quarter. Even in the final, he gave a match-winning performance by scoring 3 goals. Even in the second minute of the match, India had taken a 1-0 lead and by the end of the third quarter, Team India was moving towards victory with a 4-0 lead.

Japan needed a miraculous performance in the fourth quarter. The only goal from Japan in the entire match came in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough to defeat Team India. Before this, India had won the Under-18 Asia Cup title in 2001 and 2016.

A splendid accomplishment by our young hockey players!

Congratulations to the Indian Men’s U18 Hockey Team on winning the Men’s U18 Asia Cup 2026. The team displayed exceptional skill and teamwork throughout the tournament, culminating in a memorable victory in the final. This… pic.twitter.com/w5xIVAvN13

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 6, 2026

PM Modi congratulated

Congratulating India’s men’s under-18 hockey team, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on social media – Great achievement by our young hockey players. Congratulations to the entire team for winning the Under-18 Asia Cup title. The team displayed excellent skills and excellent teamwork throughout the tournament, resulting in a memorable victory for India in the final. This achievement shows that the game of hockey is gaining popularity among the youth. I wish the Indian team all the best for the next challenges.

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Asia cup hockey: India’s women’s hockey team suffered a crushing defeat of 1-4 from China in the Super-4 phase of Asia Cup 2025. In the match played in Hangzhou on Thursday, hosts kept dominance from the beginning. For India, Mumtaz Khan scored the only goal in the 38th minute, while for China, Xu Meerong (4 ‘, 56’), Chen Yang (31 ‘) and Tanjhuang (47’) scored goals. With this defeat, a difficult challenge has arisen in front of India to reach the finals.

Super-4 position in the table

After two matches, China’s team has reached the final with 6 points. Now the second finalist between the remaining three teams – India, Japan and Korea will be decided.

China – 6 points (2 matches, firm in final)

India – 3 points (2 matches)

Japan – 1 point (2 matches)

Korea – 1 point (2 matches)

The remaining matches

India will face Japan on Saturday and China will face Korea.

India vs Japan – 2:15 pm (IST)

China vs Korea – 4:30 pm (IST)

After these two matches, it will be decided which team will face China in the final.

Final route for India

If India defeats Japan in the match on Saturday, then India will have 6 points in the points table and India will make its place in the final. In this situation both Japan and Korea will be out of the tournament.

If the match of India and Japan is drawn, then India will get 4 points. In such a situation, Korea will have a chance to go to the finals, but they will have to defeat China by a margin of at least 2 goals, which is very difficult in view of the current form of China.

If India loses in this match, Japan will overtake the final race with 4 points and India will be out. Then the second finalist will be decided between Korea and Japan.

the road so far

India made a good start by defeating Korea in the first match of Super-4, but the defeat against China has increased its difficulties. Now the team will have to win against Japan to reach the finals.

Bet not just the trophy

Both teams, who have made it to the finals, will not only get a chance for the Asia Cup Trophy but will also get a direct ticket for the 2026 Hockey World Cup. The Indian hockey men’s team has already qualified the World Cup by winning the Asia Cup in Rajgir. Now everyone’s eyes are on the women’s team whether they will also be able to reach the finals and get the World Cup ticket.