India defeated Uzbekistan 19-0 to start their women’s hockey campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, thanks in large part to Deepika’s historic individual performance.
India dominated the match from beginning to end, and the Indian forward scored eight goals; five of them came from penalty corners. India had eight different goal scorers overall throughout a relentless attacking game, with Ishika completing a hat-trick as well. India’s campaign in Kakamigahara, where the women want to compete for the gold medal and earn direct qualification for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, got off to a brilliant start thanks to the outcome. Deepika’s eight-goal haul also set a new individual scoring benchmark in an Asian Games hockey match, underlining the historic nature of her performance.
Deepika Creates Asian Games History
Forward Deepika was the star of the show, scoring eight goals, including five from penalty corners, while Ishika also completed a hat-trick as India produced a one-sided performance. Lalremsiami opened the scoring for India in the sixth minute after Navneet Kaur’s initial attempt was saved by the Uzbekistan goalkeeper, but India recovered the ball and Lalremsiami slotted it home.
Deepika soon doubled India’s lead with a powerful strike from the right side before Ishika added the third goal after receiving a fine pass from Sunelita and finding the net with a first-time shot. Baljeet then made it 4-0 before the end of the first quarter by converting a rebound.
India continued their attacking display in the second quarter, with Neha scoring a brilliant reverse-hit goal to make it 5-0. Deepika then converted a penalty corner to score her second goal of the match, followed by Rutuja’s rebound finish to extend the lead. Deepika completed her hat-trick with another penalty corner conversion as India went into halftime with an 8-0 lead.