Deepika’s eight-goal blitz powered India to a 19-0 win over Uzbekistan at the Asian Games

Deepika scored eight as India beat Uzbekistan 19-0 in the women’s hockey opener The Indian women’s hockey team started their Asian Games campaign in emphatic fashion with a 19-0 win over Uzbekistan in their opening Group B match on Sunday.The match was expected to be heavily one-sided and India lived up to those expectations from the opening whistle, repeatedly breaching Uzbekistan’s defense as they struggled to match the intensity and quality of India’s attacks.Deepika was the star of the show, scoring eight times in a remarkable individual performance. She found the net in the 8th, 22nd, 25th, 33rd, 36th, 38th, 41st and 54th minutes to lead India’s goal fest.Lalremsiami opened the scoring in the seventh minute with a goal from close range before Deepika added India’s second a minute later. Ishika then increased the lead in the 11th minute with a superb first-time finish from the left side of the circle after being set up by Sunelita Toppo.Baljeet Kaur made it 4-0 in the 12th minute while Neha added another field goal six minutes later.Deepika then took center stage again, converting the penalty corner with a powerful drive into the bottom right corner. Navneet Kaur followed with a field goal before Deepika struck again from a penalty corner to send India into halftime with an 8-0 advantage.The onslaught continued after the break as India added 11 more wickets in the last two quarters.Besides Deepika’s eight, Ishika scored thrice while Lalremsiami, Baljeet, Neha, Navneet Kaur, Lalthantluangi and Sakshi Rana also got on the scoresheet.Ishika struck in the 42nd and 54th minutes after her first half goal, Navneet added another in the 45th while Lalthantluangi scored in the 43rd and 51st minutes. Sakshi Rana also found the net in the 43rd minute.The gulf between the two teams was also evident in possession and attacking pressure, with Uzbekistan struggling to keep the ball for longer periods.The match also marked a milestone for India’s veteran goalkeeper Savita Punia, who earned his 320th international cap. This appearance saw her join Vandana Katariya as India’s best women’s hockey player.However, Savita was not involved much in the match as Uzbekistan rarely managed to create meaningful pressure and spent most of the match trying to stifle India’s relentless attacks.India, the second highest ranked side in the competition, will face Indonesia on Monday.