India’s women’s hockey team beat defending champions China 1-0 to win the Asian Games gold, ending a 44-year wait for the title.

The final was played at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium in Kakamigahara on October 2. Lalremsiami scored the only goal in the 10th minute with a powerful reverse-stick strike. It was her 200th international appearance.

Goalkeeper Savita Punia produced a match-defining save from a penalty stroke to protect the lead. Captain Salima Tete led the midfield effort as India defended for three quarters against sustained Chinese pressure.

This is India’s second women’s hockey gold at the Asian Games and the first since New Delhi 1982. India had lost the finals in 1998 and 2018.

The win also secured direct qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey called it a perfect game. Rajbir Kaur, who was part of the 1982 winning team, said she got up from her sofa and started dancing.