Deepika Sehrawat reveals ‘major goal’ after scoring record eight goals in Asian Games hockey match against Uzbekistan

India beat Uzbekistan 19-0 in the opening match of Group B Deepika Sehrawat said India’s focus at the Asian Games is to win a gold medal and secure direct qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after scoring a record eight goals in the team’s opening game against Uzbekistan on Sunday.The 22-year-old forward produced the best-ever performance by an Indian woman in a single hockey match of the Asian Games as India thrashed Uzbekistan 19-0 in their opening Group B match in Kakamilgahara, Japan.Deepika scored in the 8th, 22nd, 25th, 33rd, 36th, 38th, 41st and 54th minutes as India had a dominant entry into the tournament.Despite her eight-goal haul, Deepika said that individual milestones are not her priority and that the team is only focused on improving with each match.“It wasn’t that hard. No matter what the opponent is, we just focus on ourselves. What we can do, the changes we can make better in the next quarters, the next games,” she said after the match.She also credited her teammates for creating penalty corner chances that helped her score.“Before the game we talked about penalty corners, like where we finish and what angle we take. It’s all thanks to my team because they take penalty corners, so I was there to score.”Deepika said the team’s bigger goal is to finish on the podium.“Our main aim is to win the gold but now we are focusing on match by match. I want to make India proud of my team.”India, the second-highest ranked team in the competition, dominated from the start, scoring eight goals in the first half and adding 11 more after the break.Midfielder Ishika Chaudhary scored a hat-trick of goals in the 11th, 42nd and 54th minutes. Lalremsiami opened the scoring in the seventh minute, Baljeet Kaur (12th), Neha (18th), Navneet Kaur (23rd, 45th), Lalthantluangi (43rd, 51st) and Sakshi Rana (43rd) also got on the scoresheet.Deepika, who returned from injury earlier this year, was at the heart of India’s attack and converted several penalty corners during the match.The match was also a milestone for goalkeeper Savita Punia, who made her 320th international appearance, tying with Vandana Katariya as the joint most watched Indian hockey player. Savita had little to do as Uzbekistan struggled to maintain possession throughout the match.India will face Indonesia in their second Group B match on Monday.