India Draws Japan, South Korea in Asian Games Hockey Pool A

The Story in Brief

Defending champion India has been drawn in Pool A for the 2026 Asian Games men’s hockey tournament in Aichi-Nagoya, alongside Japan, South Korea, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. India is the tournament’s highest-ranked team.

Pakistan, kept apart from India, will play in Pool B with Malaysia, China, Oman, Uzbekistan and Thailand. The 12-team hockey competition will also serve as the qualifying event for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, Sportstar reports. The Asian Games are scheduled for 2026, with the draw published on August 6, 2026.

The Indian Opinion

The familiar India-Pakistan storyline will dominate attention, but the draw offers no shortcut to the final. India must first handle Japan and South Korea, then avoid complacency against lower-ranked opponents. Claims that separation from Pakistan makes India’s route easy would be lazy. The better measure is whether India tops Pool A and converts its ranking into the Olympic qualification place on offer.

Source: sportstar.thehindu.com

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Rabindranath TagoreGandhiMuhammad Ali JinnahB. R. AmbedkarJawaharlal NehruVinayak Damodar SavarkarSubhas Chandra Bose

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