Nagoya, Oct. 5 -- The Indian men's hockey team successfully defended their Asian Games crown for the very first time in the sport's history at Aichi-Nagoya two days ago, defeating Malaysia 5-1 in the final. With this victory, the Harmanpreet Singh-led team also secured their direct qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

Head Coach for the Indian men's national team, Craig Fulton, said that LA 2028 is not far away and that once the Hockey India League (HIL) gets over, he will have to build a new team afresh. This will include infusing more young faces in the team in order to strike a fine balance between youth and experience, according to a press release by the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

"LA 2028 is within two years....