oppn parties As The Captain Promised, Indian Women Win The Hockey Gold

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  • Home Ministry confirms ITBP chiefs face-off claim with Chinese troops and says that it happens when the Chinese diverge from established patrolling patterns
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  • Kolkata Police arrested two more people, including the treasurer of the Chorbagan Durga Puja committee, in connection with the stampede that killed 19 people on October 17, taking the total number of arrests to nine. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said human error was primarily responsible for the Chorbagan stampede, while stressing that the retired judge leading the inquiry would determine the circumstances and findings
  • Haryana’s three-day electricity employees’ strike ended on Friday after Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini assured union representatives that the government would oppose parallel power-distribution licences for Gurugram and Nuh. Energy Minister Anil Vij said the state would invoke Section 108 of the Electricity Act and seek a review of the regulator’s decision, which had triggered the strike and disrupted power supplie
  • The India Meteorological Department warned that a low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal could intensify into a cyclone by October 26 and move towards the north Andhra Pradesh–south Odisha coast. The forecast indicated the possibility of thunderstorms and heavy rain in parts of southern West Bengal from October 28, although the system’s eventual intensity and track remained uncertain
  • The Union government proposed changes to its Periodic Labour Force Survey to improve measurement of digital-platform workers and unpaid activities, including caregiving, household production and volunteer work
  • India’s private-sector business activity expanded at its fastest pace in four months in October, according to the preliminary HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index compiled by S&P Global. The composite index rose to 56.7 from September’s 55.9, driven by stronger services activity, but employment was unchanged, ending a nine-month run of hiring growth
  • The ₹30,213-crore initial public offering of Jio Platforms closed on Friday with an overall subscription of 22.19 times, attracting bids worth approximately ₹4.90 lakh crore. Institutional investors subscribed to their reserved portion 70.55 times, while the issue received more than 13.8 million applications, setting a record for an Indian public offering
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  • Asian Para Games: India collected nine gold medals on the penultimate day to take its medal tally to 114, including 30 gold, 35 silver and 49 bronze, the highest in these games. India remained fourth on the table
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by nine wickets in the first women’s ODI in Vadodara, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Pratika Rawal scored an unbeaten 100, while Shree Charani claimed career-best figures of 4/23 as Zimbabwe were dismissed for 197 and India reached the target in 27.1 overs
  • Ishan Kishan was ruled out of the second T20 international against New Zealand after sustaining a low-grade strain in his right adductor muscle during the opening match. The BCCI said its medical team was monitoring his recovery but did not specify when he might return
Indo_-Tibetan Border Police chief Shatrujit Kapur says there have been ,utliple face-offs with Chinese troops across the Line of Actual Control
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As The Captain Promised, Indian Women Win The Hockey Gold

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2026-10-02 13:39:40

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

India has won the women's hockey gold at the Asian Games. The team beat defending champions China 1-0 in the final at Aichi-Nagoya on Friday, October 2. The win ends a wait that began in 1982, when India last won this title at home in New Delhi. It also gives India a direct berth at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. There is no qualifier to survive and no playoff to fear.

The verdict on the tournament is simple. India earned this medal. It did not stumble into it.

The final was settled early. Lalremsiami scored in the 10th minute, and that one goal was enough. China pushed hard for the rest of the match. They won a penalty stroke in the second quarter, the kind of chance that decides finals. Savita Punia stood in goal and saved it. The score stayed 1-0 to the final whistle, even after China pulled their goalkeeper for an extra outfield player in the closing stages. India did not panic. They defended their lead.

The path to the final was just as firm. India beat South Korea 2-0 in the semi-final. China, by contrast, needed a shootout to get past Japan. India reached the final with the cleaner record.

The captain, Salima Tete, had said before the tournament that the team would deliver. Before leaving for Japan, captain Salima Tete set the target in plain terms. India wanted gold and a direct Olympic berth. In an Olympics.com interview, she said the team's goal was to bring back gold. She added that they would fight for it in every single match Captains say such things all the time. Most of the time the scoreboard punishes them. This time it did not. Tete led from midfield, and her side played with discipline in every quarter of the final. A target stated in public was met in public.

This gold was built over months. Hockey India named its squad in July, a few weeks after the team won the FIH Nations Cup in New Zealand under Tete's captaincy. Chief coach Sjoerd Marijne described the group as a balance of juniors, experienced players and seniors. The final bore him out. Savita, recently honoured with the Padma Shri, held the goal. Lalremsiami, among the senior forwards, scored the only goal. Young defenders who had made their senior debuts at the Nations Cup were part of the squad that now holds the title.

The history explains why this matters. After 1982, India reached the Asian Games final only twice, and lost both times. The silver medals came in 1998 and 2018. At Hangzhou in 2022, India took bronze while China won the gold and the Olympic berth that came with it. Four years later, India has taken that same prize from China in a final. That is not a coincidence. It is a team that studied what it lacked and then supplied it.

The Olympic berth is the larger prize. Direct qualification removes the uncertainty that has haunted Indian women's hockey in earlier cycles. The team can now plan for Los Angeles without the pressure of a do-or-die qualifier. Marijne and Hockey India have nearly two years to build a squad for the Games itself. They should use that time well.

Hockey India and the sports ministry should also read the lesson correctly. The results came from continuity. The same core group played together, trained together and won together. Players were retained, and new talent was blended in. That is a method, and it can be repeated. It should not be left to chance or goodwill.

For a generation of Indian girls who play hockey on dusty fields, this win matters. They have watched the men's team compete in the final on the other side of the draw. They will now see women standing on top of the podium too.

India waited 44 years for this gold. The team has delivered it, and the country should now hold them to the next promise, which is Los Angeles.

 

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