India continued their dominant start to the Asian Games 2026 women's hockey competition with a 20-1 demolition of Thailand in their Pool B match at the Gifu
Prefectural Green Stadium on Wednesday.
After opening the campaign with 19-0 and 17-1 victories over Uzbekistan and Indonesia respectively, India again produced a relentless attacking display. Deepika was the standout performer, scoring nine goals, all from penalty corners, while Navneet Kaur added four and Rutuja Pisal completed a hat-trick.
Deepika leads another goal rush at Asian Games
India controlled the contest from the outset and repeatedly exposed Thailand's defence through sustained pressure and penalty corners.
Deepika's drag-flicking proved particularly decisive as she converted nine penalty corners to account for almost half of India's goals.
Navneet scored four, while Rutuja added three. Neha, Lalremsiami, Sakshi Rana and captain Salima Tete also got on the scoresheet as India maintained their remarkable scoring rate.
Thailand eventually found a consolation goal late in the fourth quarter, with Supansa Samanso's penalty-corner drag-flick taking a slight deflection before finding the net.
Japan next for India
The victory keeps Sjoerd Marijne's side comfortably on top of Pool B and extends India's goal tally to 56 across their opening three matches, while conceding only two.
India will face Japan on Friday in their final pool match.
The Indian women's team won bronze at the Hangzhou 2023 Asian Games and are chasing their first Asian Games gold since 1982, when they won the inaugural women's hockey competition on home soil.
