- Dilpreet Singh became the hero of the match
- Indonesia opened the account in the third quarter
- Now India's next match is against Sri Lanka
India thrashed Indonesia 13-1 in their first Group 'A' match at the Asian Games 2026 on Sunday. With this win, the men's hockey team has made a strong start to defending their title at the Asian Games 2026.
8 players scored goals on behalf of the Indian team. Dilpreet Singh scored the most 4 goals. India started aggressively from the beginning. Shilanand Lokka converted a drag flick rebound saved by Harmanpreet Singh in the sixth minute. Abhishek then doubled this lead in the 12th minute. India dominated the Indonesian players till the break. So they could maintain a 2-0 lead in the first quarter.
Dilpreet's Smoky Attack
In the second quarter, Dilpreet Singh was aggressive and opened his account by scoring goals in the 18th and 19th minutes. Rajinder Singh scored in the 19th minute and Mandeep Singh in the 21st minute to maintain control of the ball. Harmanpreet Singh earned a penalty corner in the 28th minute, thus leading India to 7-0 at half-time.
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Indonesia opened the account in the third quarter
Indonesia scored their first goal of the match early in the third quarter. Their captain Aulia Al Ard converted a penalty corner in the 33rd minute. This time, India demanded a video referral, but the decision went in favor of Indonesia.
Recovering from this shock, India immediately launched an attack. Shilanand Lokka scored his second goal of the match (in the 35th minute) and Dilpreet completed his hat-trick in the 37th minute. After that, Sukhjit Singh scored a goal in the 38th minute to take India's lead to 10-1 in the third quarter. In the final quarter, India did not give Indonesia any chance to make a comeback. On the contrary, India scored three more goals and won this match 13-1. Now India's next match will be against Sri Lanka on September 22.
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