Kakamilgahara (Japan): Deepika slammed as many as eight goals as the Indian women’s hockey team thrashed lowly Uzbekistan 19-0 in their opening Pool B match at the Asian Games, here on Sunday.
It was expected to be a one-sided affair, and it turned out exactly that way as Uzbekistan’s defence had no answer to India’s relentless attacks.
The gulf between the two sides was quite evidently visible on the turf as it was raining goals for India from the start.
Deepika soon doubled India’s lead with a powerful strike from the right side before Ishika added the third goal after receiving a fine pass from Sunelita and finding the net with a first-time shot. Baljeet then made it 4-0 before the end of the first quarter by converting a rebound.
India continued their attacking display in the second quarter, with Neha scoring a brilliant reverse-hit goal to make it 5-0. Deepika then converted a penalty corner to score her second goal of the match, followed by Rutuja’s rebound finish to extend the lead.
Deepika completed her hat-trick with another penalty corner conversion as India went into halftime with an 8-0 lead.
The third quarter saw India further extend their advantage, with Deepika scoring four more goals, all from penalty corners, taking her tally to seven in the match. Ishika, Sakshi Rana and Lalthantluangi also found the net as India raced to a 15-0 lead.
Navneet Kaur added another goal in the final quarter as India continued their relentless attack. Deepika and Ishika completed their hat-tricks, while Lalthantluangi, Neha and others contributed to the emphatic victory.
Deepika finished with eight goals, while Ishika scored three. Neha and Lalthantluangi netted twice each, with Lalremsiami, Baljeet, Sakshi Rana and Navneet Kaur adding one goal apiece.
India’s commanding win marked a strong start to their campaign, with the team showcasing their attacking strength and penalty corner efficiency.
Meanwhile, India’s women’s table tennis team began their campaign with a dominant 3-0 win over Indonesia in their Group F encounter. Sreeja Akula, Diya Chitale and Yashaswini Ghorpade secured straight victories to seal a comfortable opening win for Team India.
On the other hand, India have secured the silver medal in the women’s 10m air rifle team event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, with Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod combining to deliver the country’s first medal of the Games on Sunday.
The Indian trio finished with a team total of 1898 points, placing them behind China in the standings. Japan finished fourth, while Korea remained in contention with one shooter still to complete her series.
Elavenil Valarivan produced a standout performance, finishing with 633.5 points, and has also booked her place in the individual final. Sonam Maskar is through to the final as well.
