Aichi-Nagoya, Oct. 2 -- Forty-four years is a long time to wait for a title, but India finally ended the drought on Friday, with goalkeeper Savita Punia standing tall as the women's hockey team edged China 1-0 to reclaim the Asian Games gold and secure a direct berth at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
Lalremsiami scored the decisive goal in the first quarter, marking her 200th international appearance in unforgettable fashion, before Savita and a resolute Indian defence turned the rest of the final into a lesson in patience and resistance.
What followed was less about elegance and more about survival.
China came at India in waves, but Savita, the "Wall of India", repeatedly stood between the defending champions and an equaliser. The India...