Asian Games: Goals abound as India get off to a flying start in hockey with clear wins

It was goals galore as the Indian teams started the 2026 Asian Games hockey campaign with commanding wins. The Indian women started the day with a 19-0 win over Uzbekistan, while the men beat Indonesia 13-1.

Both teams could rely on scoring goals during the match as Deepika was the star of the show with an eight-goal haul. Dilpreet Singh got four goals for the men’s team as they put in a commanding performance and set the mark early on.

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INDONESIA MEN RULE INDONESIA

There was a lot to love about the Indian team and the result also addressed one of India’s concerns from their disappointing World Cup campaign last month. While finding the net from open play proved difficult throughout the tournament, India displayed a different attacking threat to open the Asian Games with 10 of their 13 goals coming from field play.

Indonesia managed to frustrate India for much of the opening quarter and remained organized at the back. India’s first two goals came off rebounds inside the circle, with Shilanand opening the scoring before Abhishek doubled the advantage.

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The game opened up dramatically in the second quarter. Craig Fulton’s side kicked into gear and scored four times in a three-minute spell before skipper Harmanpreet added another from a drag with two minutes left in the quarter.

Indonesia found a rare moment to celebrate in the third quarter. Sumit mishandled an aerial pass in the 33rd minute to concede a penalty corner and Aulia Al Ardh converted to give his team their first ever goal against India.

It was Indonesia’s first goal against India in three matches, having previously conceded a combined 40 goals without conceding a goal.

India will now turn their attention to Sri Lanka, with their next Group B match scheduled for Tuesday.

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Deepika seemed to get her lucky stick in her hands as she found the net in the 8th, 22nd, 26th, 33rd, 37th, 38th, 41st and 54th minutes. Her haul included six successful penalty corner conversions.

Ishika Chaudhary added three wickets to complete her hat-trick while Lalremsiami, Baljeet Kaur, Neha, Navneet Kaur, Lalthantluangi and Sakshi Rana also got on the score sheet.

India needed just six minutes to break the deadlock. After Uzbekistan survived a series of early attacks, Lalremsiami finally pushed the ball home to put the Indian side ahead.

Deepika doubled the lead soon after, driving in from close range for her 40th international goal. Sunelita Toppo then set up the opener for Ishika, who made no mistake before Baljeet Kaur made her 50th appearance for India when she added another goal before the end of the first quarter.

Savita Punia had little to do in the Indian goal as Uzbekistan looked to threaten. The veteran goalkeeper made her 320th international appearance and tied with Vandana Katariya as the most capped player in Indian women’s hockey.

India continued to pile on the pressure in the second quarter, adding four more goals to take an 8-0 lead into the break, with Deepika completing her hat trick during the period.

The third quarter turned into another Indian goal fest. India scored eight times to stretch their advantage to 16-0, with Deepika accounting for four of those goals.

Uzbekistan took a bit of a breather in the last quarter as India added three more wickets to complete a record opening victory. The numbers underlined India’s dominance, with the team recording 66 penetrations into the circle and 62 percent possession.

India will face Indonesia in Group B on Monday.

– The end

Published on:

20 Sep 2026 13:50 IST