A look at India & China's last meeting in women's hockey at Asian Games
(Courtesy : Hockey India)
Three years ago in Hangzhou, a semi-final went badly wrong for India.
On the evening of October 5, 2023, a very quiet Indian women’s hockey team walked off the pitch during the Hangzhou Asian Games. They arrived as the top seed, breezed through the early rounds, and were a win away from a gold-medal match, but then they ran into the hosts.
On October 2, India and China meet again at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, and this time the prize is the gold medal itself. A place at the LA 2028 Olympics is also on the line. To understand why this match matters so much, it helps to go back to the last time these two teams met at the Games.
The setting
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The stakes were equally high in 2023. The winner of the Asian Games tournament would have earned a direct ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympics.
India were ranked seventh in the world and had won silver at the previous Asian Games. China had taken bronze in 2018, and now they had home advantage.
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A wall called Savita
A quick note for anyone new to hockey. A penalty corner is a significant scoring opportunity, typically awarded when a defender commits an offence inside their own circle.
The attacking side gets a free shot at goal from the edge of the circle, while defenders rush out to block it. Teams that are good at penalty corners win matches. China won a lot of them. They earned two in the sixth minute and another in the 11th, and more followed.
Each time, Indian captain and goalkeeper Savita Punia stood in the way. She held off China for the first 25 minutes, and India also maintained their position for some time.
Meanwhile, India struggled to create meaningful chances of their own. Players made a few runs into China’s circle but never produced a real opening.
The first crack
In the 25th minute, China won their fifth penalty corner. This time, Zhong Jiaqi’s shot took a slight deflection and beat Savita, giving China a 1-0 lead at half-time.
Ten minutes into the second half, China won another penalty corner. The ball was deflected again, and Zou Meirong smashed it into the net to double China’s lead. It was 2-0.
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India’s best moments, and the heartbreak
Trailing by a couple, India finally started to look like themselves. They pushed forward and won a series of penalty corners of their own.
India put the ball in the net from a penalty corner, but the referee ruled it out. In hockey, a shot that rises too high is considered dangerous, and a goal scored that way does not count. It happened to India at least twice.
India kept pushing in the final quarter, sending more and more players forward. That left space behind them, and China punished it.
In the 55th minute, they broke away on a counter-attack. Savita saved the first shot, but Liang Meiyu was there to push the rebound in. It was 3-0, and the contest was effectively settled.
India then reviewed a penalty corner awarded against them, lost the review and conceded it. With the last shot of the match, Gu Bingfeng made it 4-0.
What did the people involved say?
Head coach Janneke Schopman said, “We didn’t play well. China played well. That’s about it.” “It is what it is. Unfortunately, we are not in the Pro League,” she added.
Savita was honest too. “We didn’t play our hockey in the first half,” she said. “…We know what our goal is and how we can rise to it, but it wasn’t possible today.”
Indian women’s hockey team seek first gold at Asian Games 2026
A lot has changed since Hangzhou. India now have a new coach in Sjoerd Marijne and have enjoyed a remarkable 2026. They won the FIH Nations Cup, then finished fifth at the World Cup, their best result in 52 years. At that tournament, they held then World No. 4 China to a 2-2 draw in Amsterdam.
Savita is still among India’s goalkeepers, and Salima Tete is now captain and scored in the semi-final win over South Korea. Deepika has been the tournament’s top scorer with 21 goals in six matches. Meanwhile, China are the defending champions and, like India, remain unbeaten at these Games.
India have not won Asian Games gold in women’s hockey since 1982, leaving them with a 44-year wait for the title. Now, they have another chance, against the team that ended their hopes last time.
What happened when India and China last met in women’s hockey at the Asian Games?
India lost 0-4 to China in the women’s hockey semi-final in Hangzhou on 5 October 2023. Zhong Jiaqi (25′), Zou Meirong (40′), Liang Meiyu (55′) and Gu Bingfeng (60′) scored for China. The defeat ended India’s gold-medal hopes and cost them the direct route to the Paris 2024 Olympics.
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