India made a flying start to their Asian Games 2026 men’s hockey campaign, crushing Indonesia 13-1 in their Pool A opener at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium in Kakamigahara on Sunday.
Dilpreet Singh was the star of the show, scoring four goals as India produced a relentless attacking display. Shilanand Lakra and Sukhjeet Singh added two goals each, while Harmanpreet Singh, Rajinder Singh, Mandeep Singh, Jugraj Singh and Abhishek also found the net.
Shilanand opened the scoring in the fifth minute, converting the rebound after Harmanpreet’s penalty-corner effort was saved by Indonesia goalkeeper Alam Fajar. Abhishek doubled the advantage in the 12th minute before Dilpreet struck twice in quick succession to make it 4-0.
Rajinder and Mandeep added further goals before Harmanpreet converted a penalty corner in the 28th minute, sending India into half-time with a 7-0 lead.
Indonesia pulled one back through Aulia Al Ardh early in the third quarter, but India responded immediately. Shilanand scored his second before Dilpreet completed his hat-trick in the 37th minute. Sukhjeet then made it 10-1.
Jugraj extended India’s lead from a penalty corner early in the final quarter, with Sukhjeet adding another before Dilpreet completed his four-goal haul in the 49th minute.
India closed out the match with a 13-1 victory and made an emphatic statement in Pool A.
Meanwhile, the Indian women also began their Asian Games campaign with a 19-0 win over Uzbekistan
The Indian women’s hockey team made a flying start to the tournament, with Deepika scoring 8 goals in a record-breaking performance.
She became the highest-scoring woman in a single hockey match.