Nagoya, Sept 22:
The Indian womenâs hockey team continued its impressive Asian Games campaign with a commanding 17-1 victory over Indonesia in its second Pool B match at Kakamigahara, Japan.
Deepika Sehrawat, Rutuja Dadaso Pisal and Navneet Kaur scored hat-tricks as India followed its 19-0 demolition of Uzbekistan with another emphatic victory. Deepika scored in the eighth, 28th and 40th minutes, while Rutuja found the net in the 15th, 20th and 38th minutes. Navneet completed her hat-trick with goals in the 35th, 56th and 57th minutes.
Sunelita Toppo and Lalremsiami scored two goals each, while Sakshi Rana also struck twice. Captain Salima Tete and Ishika Chaudhary added one goal apiece. Indonesiaâs only goal came from Innes Aditiya in the 32nd minute.
Deepika had already scored eight goals in Indiaâs 19-0 opening win over Uzbekistan. India will next face Thailand on Wednesday.
Chief coach Sjoerd Marijne said the team had started well but identified hosts Japan as the major challenge in the pool. India need to win gold in order to secure direct qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.