Asian Games: Indian women’s hockey team thrash Thailand 20-1
Gifu, Sep 23 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) India continued their dominant run in the women’s hockey competition at the 2026 Asian Games, producing another emphatic double-digit victory as they thrashed Thailand 20-1 in their Pool B encounter at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium on Wednesday.
The result extended India’s unbeaten start to the competition and kept the Sjoerd Marijne-coached side firmly at the top of the pool standings. It was also India’s third successive victory after they began their campaign with a 19-0 rout of Uzbekistan before following it up with a 17-1 demolition of Indonesia.
Deepika was the standout performer against Thailand, finding the net nine times in a remarkable individual display. The forward and drag-flick specialist converted all nine of her goals from penalty corners, repeatedly exposing Thailand’s difficulty in dealing with India’s set-piece threat.
Navneet Kaur added four goals, while Rutuja Pisal completed a hat-trick. Neha, Lalremsiami, Sakshi Rana and captain Salima Tete were also on the scoresheet as India maintained relentless pressure throughout the contest.
Thailand managed to avoid a clean sheet only late in the fourth quarter. Supansa Samanso’s drag-flick from a penalty corner took a slight deflection before finding its way into the Indian goal, providing Thailand with its solitary goal of the match.
India’s latest victory continued a remarkable scoring spree in the Pool B campaign. Against Indonesia earlier in the competition, Deepika, Rutuja and Navneet had each scored hat-tricks in the 17-1 victory. Sunelita Toppo, Lalremsiami and Sakshi contributed two goals apiece, while Ishika and Salima also found the target.
India had needed some time to settle against Indonesia, but Deepika broke the deadlock in the eighth minute after India earned four penalty corners in quick succession.
The Indian team will next face Japan on Friday, with another strong performance potentially further strengthening its position ahead of the knockout stages.
India are seeking to improve on their bronze-medal finish at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games. The team is also chasing its first Asian Games gold in women’s hockey since 1982, when India won the inaugural women’s hockey title at the Games on home soil.
With three successive victories and 56 goals scored across their opening matches, India have established themselves as the team to beat in Pool B, while their defensive record has also remained strong despite conceding once against both Indonesia and Thailand.
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