Here is a set of words rarely ever used together in the same sentence in the context of Indian hockey: a nerveless, ruthless performance in a major final. It’s been a while since we’ve seen this avatar of Craig Fulton’s side. A couple of years, maybe, since the Asian Games final when they last dished out this kind of flawless game, wire-to-wire dominance — in Formula 1 parlance.
India, who started their Asia Cup campaign in Rajgir with a stutter, shed chaos and embraced control to swat aside Korea — the only side to hold them in this tournament — 4-1 and win the continental title for the first time since 2017. In doing so, the Olympic bronze medallists also booked their berth for next August’s World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Fulton doesn’t believe there’s any such thing as ‘perfect hockey’. However, this will be as close to perfect as they can get.
𝑫𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂! 🔥
Winners of the Hero Asia Cup Rajgir, Bihar 2025 ✅
Qualified for the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 ✅#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #HumseHaiHockey #HeroAsiaCupRajgir pic.twitter.com/z6qFMuWd26— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) September 7, 2025
The push-back was the only time the Koreans could freely move the ball, without being put under pressure by an Indian shirt. And that was barely for 10 seconds. When India snatched possession, the two captains, Harmanpreet Singh and Lee Jungjun, came face to face for the first time in the match. One of the classic mind-game strategies teams often employ is to land a crunching tackle on the opponent’s best player to show they mean business. Harmanpreet did not need to go physical. What he did would have mentally disintegrated the Koreans.
With the ball at his stick and Jungjun making himself big to stop his counterpart, Harmanpreet showed him one way and went the other; a classic dummy to leave him stranded. Sumit, quite smartly, tracked back to give Harmanpreet a passing option — it confused Jungjun, he didn’t know whether to continue tracking Harmanpreet or block the passing line to Sumit. He chose the former, which gave the Indian captain extra space to move forward.
Harmanpreet sold another dummy, this time to Oh Seyong, who was completely wrongfooted, and slapped the ball towards Sukhjeet Singh inside the D. The India forward took one touch to control and, with the second, unleashed a fierce tomahawk to put India ahead. This was an Indian team in the mood. A dazzling fusion of rhythm, flair and joy.
Improving every match
At some level, this was the kind of dominance which was expected from the Indians from day 1 of the Asia Cup. But the slow start — on the back of seven defeats in eight matches during the European leg of the Pro League — sowed doubts about the preparedness of Fulton’s team and the future of some players who seem to have lived past their expiry dates.
Those questions will continue to linger — an Asia Cup win should not take the focus away from the bigger picture, the World Cup and the 2028 Olympics. What the title does, however, is further reinforce Hockey India’s faith in the team management.
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Fifteen minutes before Sunday’s final, Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey appeared relaxed and spoke about the complete support Fulton would get until at least the Asian Games next year. This kind of confidence before a big final and the assertion of faith in a coach is uncommon in Indian hockey, which has long adopted the revolving doors policy when it comes to coaches.
But under Fulton, India have shown something different in each tournament — save for the Pro League, which was a rare blip. The Asia Cup was no different.
अद्भुत प्रदर्शन!
राजगीर, बिहार में आयोजित एशिया कप हॉकी के फाइनल में कोरिया को 4-1 से हराकर चैंपियन का खिताब जीतने वाली भारतीय हॉकी टीम को बहुत-बहुत बधाई।
आप सभी ने पूरे एशिया कप में उत्कृष्ट खेल का उदाहरण पेश किया, सभी को मेरी हार्दिक शुभकामनाएं। pic.twitter.com/DCZQfuNpjs
— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) September 7, 2025
India got better with every match, showed tactical flexibility and gained from every opponent they played. Even the lowly Kazakhstan. India netted 15 in that match, perceived as a mere training drill. But Dilpreet Singh, who was enduring a prolonged goal drought, got a taste of scoring in that game. On Sunday, he scored twice in addition to the one against China in the virtual semifinal.
India scored four, but it could have been many more. The players were the same, but this was a different-looking side compared to the one that was held to a frustrating 2-2 draw by the same Korean team just five days ago. They were sharper, more coordinated and a lot more in control on Sunday night right from the first whistle.
Harmanpreet marshalled the defence and orchestrated attacks once again. The young Rajinder Singh — who has blossomed into a creative force — pirouetted gracefully around the Korean defence, showcasing his wide range of skills to create chance after chance. Abhishek remained a menace inside the shooting circle, where Sukhjeet was once again a constant threat.
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Korea were so frazzled by the high press India deployed that they barely got a sniff at goal. Save for a brief spell in the 40th minute, when they won back-to-back penalty corners, Korea had nothing to show for in their attack. They were cleverly pushed towards the wide areas of the field, and every attempt to run inside the D was swiftly negated by the Indian defenders, who bent low and remained calm, thus avoiding any blunders.
The one goal India conceded in the last quarter was the only time the defence took their foot off the gas. But it never really frayed the nerves. It was as calm and cold-blooded a performance as it comes from a team that has a historic reputation for anything but that. This was Fulton’s side at their controlling best.
