Kakamigahara, Sep 22 (SocialNews.XYZ) India continued their dominant start to the men’s hockey competition at the 2026 Asian Games, thrashing Sri Lanka 16-1 in their Pool A encounter at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium here on Tuesday.
Jugraj Singh led the scoring spree with four goals, while Abhishek completed a hat-trick as India followed up their 13-1 victory over Indonesia in the opening game with another emphatic performance. India took control almost immediately and opened the scoring in the fifth minute. Jarmanpreet Singh sent a dangerous ball into the circle before the ball was worked across to Mandeep Singh, who calmly turned it into the net.
Jugraj then doubled the advantage in the 10th minute, converting a penalty corner with a powerful strike. Abhishek made it 3-0 a minute later, after Jarman collected Harmanpreet Singh’s long ball on the baseline and finished. Harmanpreet joined the scoring in the 15th minute, converting an early penalty corner, before Abhishek struck again two minutes later to give India a five-goal cushion.
India continued to pile on the pressure after the restart. Jugraj converted another penalty corner in the 22nd minute for his second, while a third goal from him shortly afterwards was ruled out following a review. Sukhjeet Singh restored the scoring momentum in the 29th minute, tapping into an empty net after Harmanpreet’s dragflick was deflected away and Hardik Singh squared the ball back into the danger area. Dilpreet Singh then made it 8-0 before the end of the second quarter.
The floodgates opened further in the third period. Manpreet Singh scored with a powerful dragflick in the 31st minute, followed by Vivek Prasad’s backhand finish five minutes later. Dilpreet added his second in the 38th minute after combining with Sukhjeet, while Jugraj completed his hat-trick in the 42nd minute by converting a penalty stroke.
Harmanpreet struck again in the 44th minute after India earned their third consecutive penalty corner, taking the score to 13-0 at the end of the third quarter. Abhishek completed his hat-trick early in the final period, scoring India’s 14th goal in the 49th minute. Sri Lanka finally found a breakthrough moments later when Suresh Rathnayake produced a fine tomahawk finish to make it 14-1.
India responded immediately. Jugraj converted another penalty stroke in the 53rd minute to complete his four-goal haul, before Dilpreet scored his third two minutes later following excellent stick work from Mandeep. India saw out the closing minutes without further trouble to register a second straight Pool A victory.
The 16-goal haul followed India’s 13-1 demolition of Indonesia in their opening match, in which Dilpreet scored four times. The result further strengthened India’s attacking credentials, although the concession against Sri Lanka was the first goal the team had allowed in the competition.
The Indian men’s team will now turn their attention to the remaining Pool A fixtures as they continue their campaign for a place in the knockout stages.
Source: IANS
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