Kakamigahara City: The India women’s hockey team began their Asian Games 2026 campaign with a dominant 19-0 win over Uzbekistan in their Pool B opener at Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium on Sunday.
Deepika was the star of the match, scoring a whopping eight goals. Ishika scored three, while Lalthantluangi and Neha each bagged two. Baljeet Kaur, Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami and Sakshi Rana each scored one.
The match marked Savita Punia’s 320th senior international cap. She joined Vandana Katariya as the joint-most capped Indian women’s hockey player. Meanwhile, Baljeet completed her 50th senior international cap.
India will next take on Indonesia on Monday.
Indian women were all guns blazing, riding on Deepika’s hat-trick, as they were 8-0 in front against Uzbekistan at half-time. After the break, India looked in no mood to give Uzbekistan a chance to score, and Deepika was once again at her supreme best, scoring four goals in a row to stretch India’s lead to 13-0.
Then Ishika, Lalthantluangi, Sakshi and Navneet joined the party, extinguishing any hopes for Uzbekistan and wrapping up the dominant 19-0 win to start their campaign in style.
The Indian women arrived at the Asian Games with considerable momentum after a historic fifth-place finish at the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup 2026 — their best result at the tournament in more than five decades.
Led by captain Salima Tete, the Indian women will aim to improve on their bronze-medal finish at the 2023 Asian Games and challenge for only their second Asian Games gold medal.
The stakes extend far beyond the podium at the Asian Games, as the tournament serves as the primary gateway to the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028.
For every team taking the field, finishing positions will directly determine their Olympic trajectory. While the champions earn the ultimate prize, an immediate ticket to LA28, the event also provides critical qualifying berths for the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers.
–IANS
