Deepika scored eight goals as India’s women opened their Asian Games Pool B campaign with a 19-0 demolition of Uzbekistan on Sunday. The contest was expected to be one-sided and India, the competition’s second-highest ranked team, made that clear from the start.
Uzbekistan offered little resistance to India’s relentless pressure. The gulf in quality was obvious from the opening minutes as India kept piling on the goals.
India controlled proceedings throughout. Deepika finished as the standout scorer while several teammates also found the net in a result that underlined India’s attacking range and Uzbekistan’s defensive frailties.
India's commanding triumph over Uzbekistan stands as their third-largest victory in Asian Games history, following historic past margins like the 22-0 win over Hong Kong in 1982 and the 21-0 victory against Kazakhstan in 2018.
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First-Half Blitz
The scoring started quickly. Lalremsiami put India ahead in the 7th minute and Deepika made it 2-0 a minute later.
Ishika then finished first time from the left side of the circle after Sunelita Toppo set her up. Baljeet Kaur added the fourth in the 12th minute and Neha made it 5-0 in the 18th minute as India kept the pressure on.
Deepika then took centre stage. She struck in the 22nd and 25th minutes while Navneet Kaur also scored in the 23rd. Deepika added three more in the 33rd, 36th and 38th minutes, then scored again in the 41st to give India a comfortable 8-0 cushion at the interval.
Ishika completed her hat-trick with goals in the 42nd and 54th minutes.
Second-Half Rout
India kept the goals coming after the restart and scored 11 times across the last two quarters to complete a 19-0 victory.
Lalthantluangi scored in the 43rd and 51st minutes, Sakshi Rana also netted in the 43rd and Navneet Kaur got her second in the 45th. Uzbekistan slipped further behind as the flood continued.
Deepika finished with eight goals after scoring again in the 54th minute. By then, India had total control of the ball and the pace while Uzbekistan were unable to build any meaningful possession.
Records And Next Match
Savita Punia reached 320 international caps in the match, drawing level with Vandana Katariya as the joint-most capped Indian woman hockey player.
Savita scarcely had anything to do as Uzbekistan struggled to keep the ball and India spent most of the game attacking.
India will meet Indonesia next on Monday.
