Kakamigahara, 20 September (H.S.): The Indian men’s hockey team made a spectacular start to its campaign at the 2026 Asian Games, defeating Indonesia 13-1 in their Pool A match on Sunday.

Playing at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium, India dominated the contest from the opening whistle. Eight different Indian players found the net, with Dilpreet Singh emerging as the star of the match after scoring four goals.

Shilanand Lakra opened India’s account in the sixth minute to give the team a 1-0 lead. Abhishek then doubled the advantage in the 12th minute. Indonesia’s goalkeeper made several saves in the early stages, but India continued to maintain pressure and ended the first quarter with a 2-0 lead.

India continued its attacking display in the second quarter. Dilpreet Singh scored twice within two minutes, finding the net in the 18th and 19th minutes to extend India’s lead to 4-0.

Rajinder Singh added another goal in the 19th minute with a fine finish, before Mandeep Singh scored his first goal of the match in the 21st minute. Harmanpreet Singh then converted a penalty corner in the 28th minute as India went into half-time with a commanding 7-0 advantage.

Indonesia pulled one goal back at the beginning of the third quarter. Aulia Al Ardh converted a penalty corner in the 33rd minute to reduce the deficit to 7-1.

India responded almost immediately, with Shilanand Lakra scoring his second goal in the 35th minute. Dilpreet then completed his hat-trick in the 37th minute, while Sukhjeet Singh scored in the 38th minute to take India’s lead to 10-1 by the end of the third quarter.

India remained relentless in the final quarter. Jugraj Singh converted his second attempt from a penalty corner in the 47th minute after his first effort had been blocked by a defender.

Sukhjeet Singh scored his second goal of the match in the 48th minute before Dilpreet completed his outstanding performance with his fourth goal in the 49th minute, taking India’s lead to 13-1.

Indonesia attempted to maintain possession inside the circle during the remaining minutes, but India’s defence kept the opposition from creating significant scoring opportunities.

With the emphatic victory over Indonesia, India have made a strong start to their Pool A campaign at the 2026 Asian Games. The Indian team will next face Sri Lanka on September 22.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar