Asian Games 2018: India slam 26 goals past hapless Hong Kong to record their biggest win in men's hockey

Jakarta: Indian men’s hockey team on Wednesday recorded its biggest ever win in international hockey by annihilating Hong Kong 26-0 in a Pool B match of the Asian Games. The huge gulf between the two sides was evident as India bettered their 86-year-old record when they defeated the USA with a 24-1 margin in the Olympics. The record for biggest win in international hockey remains with New Zealand, who beat Samoa 36-1 in 1994. [caption id=“attachment_5020401” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] India’s players celebrate a goal against Hong Kong. AFP/Punit Paranjpe[/caption] Such was India’s dominance of Hong Kong that with seven minutes to go, India took their goalkeeper off the field. It was always expected to be a lopsided affair between World No 5 India and World No 45 Hong Kong. Rupinderpal Singh (3rd, 5th, 30th, 45th, 59th minutes), Harmanpreet Singh (29th, 52nd, 53rd, 54th) and Akashdeep Singh (2nd, 32nd, 35th) scored a hattrick each, while Manpreet Singh (3rd, 17th), Lalit Upadhyay (17th, 19th), Varun Kumar (23rd, 30th), SV Sunil (7th), Vivek Sagar Prasad (14th), Mandeep Singh (21st), Amit Rohidas (27th), Dilpreet Singh (48th), Chinglensana Singh (51st), Simranjeet Singh (53rd) and Surender Kumar (55th) were the other goal-getters for India. India did not show any mercy to their opponents, scoring four goals in the first five minutes of the match. They ended the first quarter with a comprehensive six-goal lead and made it 14-0 after adding eight in the second quarter. It turned out to be just a practice match for India, who had trounced hosts Indonesia 17-0 in their first pool match. The play was restricted to Hong Kong’s half and Indian captain PR Sreejesh, guarding the goal post, was not challenged even once. If goalkeeper Michael Chung had not made a few good saves in the third quarter, the scoreline could have been even worse for Hong Kong. While Sreejesh guarded the post in the first half, Krishan Bahadur Pathak manned the goal in the second. India will next play Japan on Friday.