Hockey India announced a cash reward for all the players and the support staff after the men's hockey team clinched its fourth Asia Cup title, beating Korea 4-1 in the final. Each player of the squad will be getting Rs 3 Lakh, and the support staff member will be rewarded Rs 1.5 Lakh. India didn't waste any time in beginning the scoring as Sukhjeet Singh nailed one in the goal in the first minute itself and India just sustained the pressure for the next 59 minutes to get the job done, after the opening goal set the tone.
"Following India’s historic fourth Asia Cup triumph at the Hero Asia Cup Rajgir, Bihar 2025, Hockey India is delighted to announce rewards of ₹3 lakh each for players and ₹1.5 lakh each for the support staff," Hockey India said in a statement late Sunday night after the Asia Cup triumph.
India qualify for Hockey World Cup
India ended the eight-year wait for the continental title, winning it for the fourth time and going past Pakistan to become the second-most successful team in Hockey Asia Cup after Korea (five times). India also became the eighth team to earn a direct qualification for the FIH Hockey World Cup next year in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Belgium and the Netherlands were the first ones to qualify as hosts, followed by Australia and Spain, who made it through the previous two editions of the FIH Hockey Pro League. Argentina secured qualification through the Pan American Cup, Germany qualified from the Eurohockey Championship and New Zealand qualified through the Oceania Cup. A total of 16 teams will take part in the competition, with seven to be decided through the qualifiers and one team from Africa through the African qualifiers.
As for the final, it ended up being a one-sided affair as India kept the pressure on from the first minute. The writing was almost on the wall after Dilpreet Singh's couple of goals in the second quarter. Dain Son's goal in the 50th minute was the first one for Korea, but by that time, India already had four written against their name and hence, the final 10 minutes felt like a formality. It was the culmination of a good unbeaten campaign for India in the tournament.
