Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], October 3 (ANI): India's T20I men's team captain Shreyas Iyer congratulated the Indian women's hockey team after they clinched the gold medal at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan on Friday.

The Indian women's hockey team produced a historic performance, defeating reigning Asian champions China 1-0 to clinch the gold medal and end a 44-year wait for an Asian Games. The gold medal also brings a significant reward for the Indian team, as the victory secures direct qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

In an X post following India's hockey gold, Iyer hailed the team's achievement as a proud moment for Indian sport and looked ahead to their participation at the LA Olympics.

"Congratulations to the Indian Women's Hockey Team on winning gold at the Asian Games. A proud moment for Indian sport. Next stop, LA 2028," he said in an X post.

Ranked No. 8 in the world, India stunned World No. 4 China in a fiercely contested final, with Lalremsiami scoring the decisive goal in the 10th minute through a field goal. The triumph marks India's first women's hockey medal at the Asian Games since 1982, when the team last stood on the podium. 

This marked India's 76th medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, with 16 golds, 25 silver medals and 35 bronze medals.

The achievement comes after a difficult Olympic cycle for the Indian women's hockey team, which narrowly missed out on qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics following its impressive fourth-place finish at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

India's campaign was also highlighted by a prolific goalscoring effort. Deepika finished as the tournament's top goalscorer with 21 goals, followed by teammate Navneet Kaur with 10 goals, while China's Jiaqi Zhong scored nine.

Notably, Iyer himself will have a chance to clinch a gold medal as the Indian cricket team will face arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asian Games 2026 cricket final at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin on Saturday.

Led by Iyer, India stormed into the final with a commanding 124-run victory over Sri Lanka in the semi-final on Thursday. Their quarter-final against Afghanistan was washed out.

India enter the final as the defending Asian Games men's cricket champions, having won the gold medal at the Hangzhou 2023 Games. (ANI)