Less than three weeks after finishing fifth at the Women’s Hockey World Cup, India will return to action at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya. The tournament also offers a direct route to the LA 2028 Olympics, giving India another major target immediately after an impressive World Cup campaign.
A month ago, China would have started as clear favourites to defend their Asian Games title. Their case was strong after winning silver at the Paris Olympics, the 2025 Women’s Asia Cup and finishing fourth in each of the last two FIH Pro League seasons. China had established themselves as the strongest women’s team in Asia heading into the World Cup.
India’s World Cup performance has made the Asian Games much harder to call. They finished fifth, their best result at the tournament since 1974, after losing just once in six matches. India beat South Africa 6-1 and Germany 3-1, while drawing against China, England and Australia.
The 2-2 draw against China was particularly relevant with the Asian Games only a few weeks away. China had beaten India twice during the 2024-25 Pro League and 4-1 in the 2025 Asia Cup final, but India were able to match them at the World Cup. That result, combined with India’s fifth-place finish, has strengthened their case to challenge China for the Asian Games title.
India and China therefore enter Aichi-Nagoya as the two leading contenders. Japan are the other team India need to remain cautious about, mainly because of their history against India rather than anything that suggests the current Japanese side should be placed alongside the two favourites.
Asian Games 2026 Women’s Hockey Pools
China, Korea, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Chinese Taipei and Bangladesh make up Pool A. India have been drawn in Pool B alongside Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Uzbekistan.
| Pool A | Pool B |
| China | India |
| Korea | Japan |
| Malaysia | Thailand |
| Kazakhstan | Singapore |
| Chinese Taipei | Indonesia |
| Bangladesh | Uzbekistan |
The draw keeps India and China in separate pools. China have Korea and Malaysia among their main opponents in Pool A, while India’s biggest pool-stage test should come against Japan.
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Japan famously beat India 2-1 in the 2018 Asian Games final during the cycle leading towards their home Olympics in Tokyo. They have not maintained that same level of threat in the years since, although their history against India is enough reason for caution when the teams meet on 25 September.
Asian Games 2026 Women’s Hockey Pool-Stage Schedule
India begin against Uzbekistan on 20 September before facing Indonesia the following day and Thailand on 23 September. Japan then await on 25 September in what should be India’s biggest pool-stage test, before the group campaign ends against Singapore on 27 September.
India’s fixtures are highlighted in bold. Local times are taken from the official Aichi-Nagoya 2026 schedule, with the corresponding India times shown alongside them.
| Date | Match | Local Time | India Time |
| 18 Sep | Korea vs Chinese Taipei | 13:00 | 09:30 |
| 18 Sep | Thailand vs Singapore | 15:00 | 11:30 |
| 18 Sep | Japan vs Indonesia | 17:00 | 13:30 |
| 18 Sep | Malaysia vs Kazakhstan | 19:00 | 15:30 |
| 20 Sep | China vs Bangladesh | 09:00 | 05:30 |
| 20 Sep | India vs Uzbekistan | 11:00 | 07:30 |
| 21 Sep | Korea vs Kazakhstan | 09:00 | 05:30 |
| 21 Sep | China vs Chinese Taipei | 11:00 | 07:30 |
| 21 Sep | India vs Indonesia | 13:00 | 09:30 |
| 21 Sep | Uzbekistan vs Thailand | 15:00 | 11:30 |
| 21 Sep | Japan vs Singapore | 17:00 | 13:30 |
| 21 Sep | Bangladesh vs Malaysia | 19:00 | 15:30 |
| 23 Sep | Bangladesh vs Korea | 09:00 | 05:30 |
| 23 Sep | Singapore vs Indonesia | 11:00 | 07:30 |
| 23 Sep | Kazakhstan vs Chinese Taipei | 13:00 | 09:30 |
| 23 Sep | Thailand vs India | 15:00 | 11:30 |
| 23 Sep | Uzbekistan vs Japan | 17:00 | 13:30 |
| 23 Sep | Malaysia vs China | 19:00 | 15:30 |
| 25 Sep | Kazakhstan vs Bangladesh | 09:00 | 05:30 |
| 25 Sep | Japan vs India | 11:00 | 07:30 |
| 25 Sep | Korea vs China | 13:00 | 09:30 |
| 25 Sep | Indonesia vs Thailand | 15:00 | 11:30 |
| 25 Sep | Singapore vs Uzbekistan | 17:00 | 13:30 |
| 25 Sep | Chinese Taipei vs Malaysia | 19:00 | 15:30 |
| 27 Sep | China vs Kazakhstan | 09:00 | 05:30 |
| 27 Sep | Indonesia vs Uzbekistan | 11:00 | 07:30 |
| 27 Sep | Chinese Taipei vs Bangladesh | 13:00 | 09:30 |
| 27 Sep | Malaysia vs Korea | 15:00 | 11:30 |
| 27 Sep | Thailand vs Japan | 17:00 | 13:30 |
| 27 Sep | India vs Singapore | 19:00 | 15:30 |
India have three matches before facing Japan, which gives them time to settle into the competition before their most important pool fixture. Finishing first could also matter beyond simply winning the group because it determines the semifinal crossover.
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China’s important pool matches come against Malaysia on 23 September and Korea on 25 September. Those fixtures should provide a better indication of the defending champions’ form before the knockout stage begins.
How the Classification Matches Work
The top two teams from each pool qualify for the semifinals. The winner of Pool A faces the runner-up from Pool B, while the Pool B winner meets the second-placed team from Pool A.
Third and fourth place follow a crossover system. Third in Pool A plays fourth in Pool B and third in Pool B meets fourth in Pool A, with the winners progressing to the fifth-place match and the losers playing for seventh. The fifth-placed teams meet for ninth place, while the sixth-placed teams play directly for 11th.
Asian Games 2026 Women’s Classification, Semifinals and Medal Schedule
The women’s semifinals take place on 30 September, with the classification and medal matches continuing on 2 October. The gold-medal match is scheduled for 19:00 local time and 15:30 in India.
| Date | Match | Local Time | India Time |
| 30 Sep | 11th/12th: 6th Pool A vs 6th Pool B | 09:00 | 05:30 |
| 30 Sep | 3rd Pool A vs 4th Pool B | 11:30 | 08:00 |
| 30 Sep | 3rd Pool B vs 4th Pool A | 14:00 | 10:30 |
| 30 Sep | Semifinal: 1st Pool A vs 2nd Pool B | 16:30 | 13:00 |
| 30 Sep | Semifinal: 1st Pool B vs 2nd Pool A | 19:00 | 15:30 |
| 2 Oct | 9th/10th: 5th Pool A vs 5th Pool B | 09:00 | 05:30 |
| 2 Oct | 7th/8th place | 11:30 | 08:00 |
| 2 Oct | 5th/6th place | 14:00 | 10:30 |
| 2 Oct | Bronze-medal match | 16:30 | 13:00 |
| 2 Oct | Gold-medal match | 19:00 | 15:30 |
India’s World Cup has made the race for Asian Games gold more interesting than it appeared a month ago. China still arrive with Olympic silver, an Asia Cup title and two strong Pro League seasons behind them, while India now have a World Cup campaign that gives them genuine reason to believe they can challenge the defending champions.
The official competition schedule notes that match timings, session allocations and classification fixtures remain subject to final approval. Broadcast requirements, venue operations and weather contingency planning could still result in changes.
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