The first two hockey teams have won their places at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, with India’s men and the Republic of Korea’s women confirming their berths by winning the gold medals at the Asian Games, in Incheon, the Republic of Korea.

In hockey’s first qualification event for the first edition of the Olympic Games to be held in South America, India’s men triumphed over Pakistan after a shoot-out on Thursday (2 October), a day after the Republic of Korea had beaten China 1-0 in the women’s final.

In another chapter in the historical hockey rivalry between neighbours India and Pakistan, the eight-time Olympic champions won the shoot-out 4-2 against the three-time Olympic gold medallists after the scores ended 1-1 after regulation time. The Republic of Korea took the bronze medal.

Veteran India captain Sardar Singh said: “This is one of the biggest moments for me. We came here to win the Asian Games and directly qualify for the Rio Olympics and we have achieved our aim.”

The Republic of Korea women's team celebrate their first Asian Games title for 16 years (Photo: Asian Hockey Federation)

In the women’s tournament, the host nation, spurred on by a passionate crowd, ended China’s 12-year reign as Asian Games champions. Kim Darae scored the decisive goal for the two-time Olympic silver medallists, who won their first Asian Games gold since 1998. India took bronze.

“It is like a dream for us. I was part of the team at the last two Games and it hurt badly to lose in the final both times. So this victory is really special for me,” said Park Mi Hyun, a veteran of 210 internationals who is retiring after the Games.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Games men’s and women’s hockey tournaments will each feature 12 teams. Five berths in each gender will be obtained through continental tournaments, such as the Asian Games, while six will be won through the 2014/2015 Hockey World League. The 12th spots are reserved for Brazil if the host nation’s teams achieve performance criteria set by the International Hockey Federation.

Rio2016.com is not an absolute authority on qualification for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is an ongoing process. Final places will only be confirmed in July 2016 (for the Olympic Games) and August 2016 (for the Paralympic Games). The qualification systems are defined by each sport’s respective International Federation and the International Olympic Committee or International Paralympic Committee, and are subject to change. When an athlete or team wins a quota place for their nation, the final decision on whether this ‘slot’ is used and which athletes are sent is taken by the respective National Olympic Committee or National Paralympic Committee (NOC or NPC). Even when athletes win a ‘nominal’ place for themselves, NOCs/NPCs may have to decide who to send if the number of qualified athletes from one country exceeds the quota