India’s women’s hockey team produced another dominant performance at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, defeating Thailand 20-1 in their Pool B encounter at the Kawasaki Juko Stadium on Wednesday.
Deepika was the standout performer, finding the net nine times as India maintained their perfect start to the competition. Navneet Kaur contributed four goals, while Rutuja Dadaso Pisal scored three. Lalremsiami, Neha, Sakshi and Salima Tete were also among the scorers.
India controlled the match from the outset and found the net in every quarter. They scored six goals in the opening period, followed by five each in the second and third quarters before adding four more in the final 15 minutes.
Thailand managed only one goal, with Samanso Supansa scoring in the 57th minute.
The victory marked India’s third straight high-scoring win in the tournament. They began their campaign with a 19-0 demolition of Uzbekistan, with Deepika scoring eight goals and Ishika completing a hat-trick. India then recorded another 17-goal victory against Indonesia before reaching the 20-goal mark against Thailand.
India will next face hosts Japan on Friday before meeting Singapore on Sunday in their remaining Pool B fixtures.
The hockey team’s performance was part of another productive day for India across several disciplines.
In kabaddi, the Indian men’s team defeated Bangladesh 48-25 to make it three wins in three group-stage matches. The women’s team also continued its winning run, beating Iran 37-23 for its second consecutive victory.
In weightlifting, Olympic medallist Mirabai Chanu secured silver in the women’s 49kg category after recording a combined lift of 198kg.
India also secured its first-ever Asian Games medal in soft tennis, with Jay Meena claiming bronze in the men’s singles event.
The shooting contingent added two more bronze medals in skeet. Raiza Dhillon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Maheshwari Chauhan finished third in the women’s team event with 331 points. In the men’s competition, Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Mairaj Ahmed Khan and Bhavtegh Singh Gill also took bronze after prevailing over Kazakhstan in a shoot-off.
In squash, Abhay Singh advanced to the men’s singles Round of 16 after a dominant straight-games win over Thailand’s Arkaradet Arkarahirunya. Tanvi Khanna also progressed in the women’s singles following her victory over South Korea’s Kim Dami.
