India Women Begin Asian Games Hockey Campaign With 19-0 Rout of Uzbekistan as Deepika Sehrawat Makes History

India's women's hockey team made a spectacular start to its Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 campaign, overwhelming Uzbekistan 19-0 in their opening Pool B match on Sunday.

The scoreline was emphatic enough on its own, but the match will be remembered primarily for the extraordinary performance of Deepika Sehrawat, who scored eight goals to set a new record for the most goals by an individual player in a women's hockey match at the Asian Games. India dominated virtually every phase of the contest at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium, scoring eight times in the first half before adding another 11 goals after the interval. Uzbekistan struggled to contain India's movement, attacking combinations and penalty-corner execution throughout the match. 

Deepika was at the centre of India's attacking display from the opening quarter. She opened her account in the 8th minute, finding the net from open play after being left with space inside the circle. It was also her 40th international goal. She returned to the scoresheet in the second quarter, converting a penalty corner in the 22nd minute before adding another in the 25th minute to complete her hat-trick.

After the interval, her scoring spree continued. Deepika struck in the 33rd minute and then scored again in the 36th and 38th minutes. Another penalty-corner conversion in the 41st minute took her tally to seven before she completed an extraordinary individual performance with her eighth goal in the 54th minute. Her eight-goal haul established a new record for the most goals scored by a woman in a single Asian Games hockey match.

It was also the defining feature of a match in which India repeatedly created opportunities around the Uzbek circle.

India four goals ahead after the opening quarter

India needed only six minutes to open the scoring. Lalremsiami converted from close range in the 6th minute after India had already threatened the Uzbek goal. Deepika doubled the advantage two minutes later, setting the tone for what would become a remarkable afternoon.

Ishika then added India's third before Baljeet Kaur made it 4-0. India finished the first quarter with four goals from four different scorers, underlining the variety in their attacking play. Uzbekistan found it increasingly difficult to deal with India's pressure and struggled to create meaningful opportunities of their own.

The second quarter brought even more Indian goals. Neha Goyal scored in the 18th minute after a powerful individual run into the circle, while Deepika took control of the match with two further goals. Navneet Kaur also got on the scoresheet before Deepika's third goal of the game completed an eight-goal first half for India.

India went into the interval with an 8-0 lead. 

11 goals after the break

If Uzbekistan had hoped to stem the flow after half-time, India offered no respite. The third quarter began with an initially disallowed Indian goal, but the setback did little to affect the team's attacking momentum. Deepika completed her hat-trick in the 26th minute and continued to torment the Uzbek defence with her penalty-corner drag flicks.

At 33 minutes, another powerful Deepika drag flick made it 9-0 before she struck again shortly afterwards to take India into double figures. Ishika produced one of the standout field goals of the match, dribbling past defenders from the left baseline before finishing to make it 13-0.

Asian Games debutant Lalthantluangi then scored from a penalty corner, while Sakshi Rana added her first goal of the match. Navneet Kaur subsequently joined the scoring again, and Lalthantluangi converted a penalty stroke to make it 17-0. Ishika completed her hat-trick in the 53rd minute before Deepika's eighth and final goal brought the score to 19-0.

The final goal came in the 54th minute, completing one of the most remarkable individual scoring performances in Asian Games women's hockey history. 

Despite the extraordinary scoreline, the 19-0 victory was not India's biggest win in Asian Games women's hockey. India's record remains the 22-0 victory over Kazakhstan in 2018. The 19-0 result is nevertheless among the biggest wins in the country's Asian Games hockey history. 

The result also marked India's first-ever Asian Games meeting with Uzbekistan, making the opening victory a particularly emphatic introduction between the two sides.

India's next challenge will come against Indonesia on Monday as the Pool B campaign continues. 

The match also marked a significant personal milestone for India's veteran goalkeeper Savita Punia. Savita earned her 320th international cap, moving level with Vandana Katariya as India's joint-most capped women's hockey player. Remarkably, the goalkeeper had very little to do for long stretches of the contest as India's dominance restricted Uzbekistan's opportunities.

That statistic itself reflected the gulf between the teams on the day.

India entered the tournament as the second-highest-ranked team in the women's hockey competition, and their opening performance demonstrated the attacking depth available to captain Salima Tete and head coach Sjoerd Marijne.  Nineteen goals came from a variety of sources: Deepika contributed eight, Ishika three, while Lalremsiami, Baljeet Kaur, Neha Goyal, Navneet Kaur, Lalthantluangi and Sakshi Rana also found the net.  

But the headline belonged to Deepika.

Eight goals in one Asian Games match. A new women's record. And a 19-0 victory to open India's campaign.

India could hardly have asked for a more emphatic beginning to its Aichi-Nagoya 2026 women's hockey campaign.