Asian Games Hockey: India Women Beat Thailand 20-1, Deepika Smashes 9 Goals; Japan Next

The Indian women’s hockey team continued its impressive campaign at the Asian Games with a commanding 20-1 victory over Thailand in a Pool B match at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium on Wednesday.

The win marked India’s third consecutive victory in the competition and kept the team at the top of the Pool B standings. India had earlier defeated Uzbekistan 19-0 and Indonesia 17-1.

The standout performer against Thailand was Deepika, who scored a remarkable nine goals, with all nine coming from penalty corners. Navneet Kaur added four goals, while Rutuja Pisal completed a hat-trick.

Deepika Scores Nine Goals Against Thailand

Deepika once again proved decisive from penalty corners, converting nine opportunities to register a spectacular individual scoring performance.

Navneet Kaur scored four goals, while Rutuja Pisal found the net three times.

India's other scorers included Neha, Lalremsiami, Sakshi Rana and captain Salima Tete, as the Indian attack maintained relentless pressure throughout the contest.

Thailand managed to score only once, late in the fourth quarter. Supansa Samanso converted a penalty-corner drag-flick that took a slight deflection before finding the Indian net.

India Complete Hat-Trick of Big Wins

The victory over Thailand continued India's remarkable scoring run in the women's hockey competition.

India's first three Pool B results have been:

India 19-0 Uzbekistan

India 17-1 Indonesia

India 20-1 Thailand

That means India have scored 56 goals in three matches, while conceding just two.

The latest 20-1 victory also marked India's third consecutive double-digit win at the tournament.

India vs Japan Next on September 25

India will next face Japan on Friday, September 25.

The Japan match will be India's fourth Pool B fixture. According to the published tournament schedule, Japan vs India is scheduled for September 25, followed by India's match against Singapore on September 27.

India's strong start has put the team in a strong position in Pool B, with the side looking to maintain its momentum as the tournament progresses.

India Target Women's Hockey Gold After 44 Years

The Asian Games campaign also carries historical significance for the Indian women's hockey team.

India won its first and only Asian Games women's hockey gold medal in 1982, when the event was introduced at the New Delhi Asian Games. Hockey India's official records confirm the 1982 gold.

Since then, India has returned to the podium several times but has not won another Asian Games gold.

The team finished silver in 1998 at Bangkok, before claiming bronze in 2006 and 2014. India then won silver again at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games and bronze at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.