Deepika’s Great Eight: India Crush Uzbekistan 19-0 in Asian Games Hockey Opener

Nineteen goals. None conceded. Eight from Deepika alone.

India’s women opened their Asian Games 2026 hockey campaign with a 19-0 demolition of Uzbekistan in Nagoya on Sunday, with Deepika leading an attacking onslaught that left the opposition overwhelmed.

Ishika added a hat-trick as India took control early, built an 8-0 lead by halftime and kept finding the net through the second half.

Four Goals, One Quarter

Lalremsiami set the scoreboard moving in the sixth minute. After Uzbekistan’s goalkeeper saved Navneet Kaur’s initial attempt, India recovered possession and Lalremsiami finished the move.

Deepika doubled the advantage with a powerful strike from the right before Ishika met Sunelita’s pass with a first-time finish. Baljeet converted a rebound to give India a 4-0 lead by the end of the opening quarter.

There was little respite for Uzbekistan after the break. Neha struck with a reverse hit, and Deepika’s penalty-corner conversions helped stretch India’s advantage to eight goals at halftime.

Deepika Leads the Deluge

Deepika continued to punish Uzbekistan in the third quarter, taking her personal tally to seven as India surged into a 15-0 lead. Ishika, Sakshi Rana and Lalthantluangi also scored during the quarter.

India added four more in the final period to complete the rout. Deepika finished with eight goals, while Ishika completed her hat-trick.

Neha and Lalthantluangi scored twice each. Lalremsiami, Baljeet, Sakshi Rana and Navneet Kaur contributed a goal apiece.

The emphatic opening result gave India an early platform in the tournament, with their forwards and penalty-corner attack both making an immediate impact.

Shooting Silver Opens India’s Account

Away from the hockey pitch, India claimed their first medal of the Games through the women’s 10m air rifle team.

Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod combined for 1,898 points to secure silver behind China.

Elavenil produced a score of 633.5 and qualified for the individual final. Sonam also advanced, giving India further medal opportunities in the event.

The women’s table tennis team made a winning start too, beating Indonesia 3-0 in their Group F encounter. Sreeja Akula, Diya Chitale and Yashaswini Ghorpade each won their matches to complete the sweep.

With inputs from ANI