As sports delights go, this has to be a weekend that provided the richest fare in recent times. First came the great news for Indian fans with the men's hockey team winning the Asia Cup tournament after an eight-year gap, for its fourth title overall and more importantly ensuring a place in the next edition of the World cup to be held in Netherlands and Belgium in 2026. Then there were the offerings from US Open tennis. First the gritty Belarus champion Aryna Sabalenka grabbing the top honours in the women’s section and then thereafter in the much look forward to men’s final, Carlos Alcaraz swamping his arch rival Jannik Sinner in four sets in a classic encounter.

But first the hockey triumph for here is a sport where India had such high standing in the world once but had slipped thereafter. Only in recent times did we see indications of a revival of that old hunger for more and the Tokyo Olympics and the Paris edition thereafter showed a glimpse of it with a bronze medal win in each. The gold medal success in the Hangzhou Asian games in 2022 underlined India’s stature in Asia but then came a phase when things seemed to go haywire. In the tough pro league that followed, where observers even believed India could be title-contenders, but what unfolded however was not just disappointment but a shock for all. The team suffered the ignominy of a record seven-match losing streak and just barely managed to retain its top-tier status in world hockey, finishing eighth in the nine-team competition. Nothing could have shattered the morale of the team more.

Thus, there was much to look for in the Asia Cup aside from a berth in the World cup. Coach Craig Fulton knew his hands were full. The team needed to be injected with the self-belief that had driven it ahead with a new confidence. Rajgir in Bihar proved the venue for this new turn to Indian hockey fortunes. Thus, it was with a touch of diffidence that India had started the campaign but it did not take long before things began to fall in place much to the relief of Fulton. The struggle against China and Japan notwithstanding, things rolled on. Yet the way the defending champion South Korea had held India to a draw in the super-four stage, there was a message that the home team needed to be extra alert should they meet again in the title-round. And so it proved to be. India started off with a flash, getting a goal inside the first minute and in a way that set the tone for the final with India taking control to put the none-too-easy opponent Korea a step behind all through.

In the end the good news for hockey fans in the country has to be that this team has in it to prove a point or two in the days ahead. True there is no major event in the near future prior to the World Cup next year but Fulton has time to get his unit into a crack side to help India regain or perhaps help recall the images of the glory of the past. Indeed, much has changed in hockey from the stick-work and quick passing bouts that used to be the essence when the game was played on natural grass, the astro-turf version has put stress on speed and strength aside from precision in taking the long shots. Once magicians with the stick, India could not cope up with the changes, something European teams did with panache. Perhaps better times are ahead.

Performance certainly matters. The Indian hockey team proved that and away in New York in the US Open the top two men players of the world in the current era, Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz and Italian Jannik Sinner dished out another brilliant display of court craft to prove their point. And as it happened this was their third straight Grand Slam final meet for the two in a single season. Only this time it was Alcaraz who had the last laugh as he stamped his authority with a four-set win for his sixth Grand Slam title. He is now the second youngest man behind Bjorn Borg to reach this tally. What is more, Alcaraz did not lose a set right through until in the final and that in itself signified in a nutshell the man’s readiness for the big occasion like the Grand Slam. Forgotten was the struggle Alcaraz had faced earlier this season in the French Open when he rallied from two sets down and saved three match points before putting it across Sinner. He is now a man with a mission. A new hair-cut, that was the centre of attention, and sharpened movements on the court, Alcaraz seemed now all set for greater deeds.

Equally noteworthy was the way Sabalenka went about to defend her US Open crown beating the American Amanda Anisimova in the final. The 27-year old Belarus player thus in the process became the first woman to defend the U S Open title since Serena Williams in 2014. For someone who had lost the Australian and French Open finals this season this was the moment she had been praying for and sure enough she proved her worth.

Sure enough, the US Open as always provided excitement and, in the end, brought forth two classy winners to complete the script.