Asian Games 2026: India thrash Indonesia 13-1 in hockey opener

Dilpreet Singh stole the show with four spectacular goals as the Indian men's hockey team kicked off their Asian Games campaign by thrashing Indonesia in their Pool A opening match on Sunday.

Shilanand Lakra set the tone early, putting India ahead in the fifth minute.

Dilpreet Singh quickly doubled the momentum, driving a cut-back to set up Abhishek, who smashed the ball into an empty net in the 12th minute to close out the first quarter at 2-0. Dilpreet then got on the scoresheet himself in the 18th minute, capping off a neat buildup from Sumit and Abhishek.


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The assault kept coming as Dilpreet tapped in his second goal into an empty net just a minute later. Ranjit drilled a pass from the left flank, finding Dilpreet stationed at the far post, "as per ESPN."

Rajinder added to the tally in the 19th minute. After feeding the ball to Dilpreet, who missed the initial attempt, Rajinder pounced on the rebound to slot it home.

Mandeep Singh netted the team's fifth goal in the 21st minute. Hardik Singh shuffled the ball left to Sukhjeet, who squared it to Mandeep right in front of the keeper for a simple deflection.

Captain Harmanpreet Singh added his name to the scoresheet in the 28th minute by converting a penalty corner, ending India's longest scoring lull of seven minutes and taking the halftime lead to 7-0.

Indonesia pulled one back early in the second half when Al Ardh Aulia scored in the 33rd minute. However, India answered fiercely with three quick goals over the next five minutes: Shilanand struck in the 35th minute, and Dilpreet completed his hat-trick in the 37th minute off a fine feed from Jarmanpreet Singh with a close-range finish.

Sukhjeet Singh joined the goal rush in the 38th minute, converting a rebound after a missed attempt by Dilpreet to push India ahead 10-0.

Sukhjeet added two more, converting a penalty corner in the 46th minute and scoring again in the 48th minute—before Dilpreet capped off his four-goal performance in the 49th minute to complete the rout.

India will take on Sri Lanka in their next fixture on Tuesday.

The Indian men's team is chasing a historic feat. While the eight-time Olympic gold medalists have claimed four Asian Games titles, including a dominant "5-1" victory over Japan in the "2022 Hangzhou Asian Games men's tournament final" under Harmanpreet Singh's captaincy, a gold medal here guarantees them a direct qualification spot for the Los Angeles Olympics 2028.

Indian men's hockey squad: Harmanpreet Singh (captain), Mohith HS, Suraj Karkera, Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, Sanjay, Sumit, Yashdeep Siwach, Rajinder Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Dilpreet Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Sukhjeet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Abhishek.