India and Malaysia Prepare for Asian Games Men's Hockey Final

The India coach wants his players to focus on their own game rather than look too far ahead.

"We want to focus on just our own game plan, put our proactive mindset into the game and leave it all out there on the pitch," he said.

India chief coach Craig Fulton expects an attacking contest.

"Malaysia have done well, had a good tournament so far, so it's going to be a nice match-up. We haven't played Malaysia for quite some time. I think the last time was at the Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai. (These are) two nice attacking teams, lots of skill, lots of flair, lots of speed," Fulton said.

Malaysia will enter the final with an unbeaten record at the Asian Games. They have won all five of their matches and secured their place in the final after beating South Korea 2-1 in a closely fought semifinal.

The result took Malaysia to their second Asian Games final in the last three editions and showed their ability to stay composed under pressure.

India looked firmly in control after taking a 3-0 lead against Pakistan in Thursday's semifinal. But they allowed their opponents back into the contest as Pakistan fought back to level the score at 3-3.

With the match heading towards a shootout, Abhishek scored the decisive goal in the final minute of regulation time to give India a dramatic 4-3 victory.

India also missed several penalty-corner opportunities during the match. The comeback by Pakistan will give the defending champions plenty to think about ahead of the final.

With only a day's gap between the semifinal and the gold-medal match, recovery, composure and attention to detail will be crucial.

India will look to defend their Asian Games gold medal and secure a place at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics when they face Malaysia in the men's hockey final on Saturday.

India have never won successive Asian Games gold medals. A victory against Malaysia would therefore give the team a chance to create history while also securing Olympic qualification.

But India will need to raise their game after a difficult semifinal against arch-rivals Pakistan.