Kakamigahara, September 22, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India continued their dominant start to the men’s hockey competition at the 2026 Asian Games, thrashing Sri Lanka 16-1 in their Pool A encounter at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium here on Tuesday.
Jugraj Singh led India’s scoring spree with four goals, while Abhishek completed a hat-trick as India followed up their 13-1 win over Indonesia in the opening match with another emphatic performance.
India took control from the early stages and opened the scoring in the fifth minute. Jarmanpreet Singh sent a dangerous ball into the circle before it was worked across to Mandeep Singh, who calmly finished.
Jugraj doubled the lead in the 10th minute with a powerful penalty-corner conversion. Abhishek made it 3-0 a minute later after Jarmanpreet collected Harmanpreet Singh’s long ball on the baseline and finished the move.
Harmanpreet joined the scoring in the 15th minute by converting a penalty corner, before Abhishek struck again two minutes later to give India a five-goal cushion.
India maintained the pressure after the restart. Jugraj scored his second in the 22nd minute from another penalty corner, while a third goal from him shortly afterwards was ruled out following a review.
Sukhjeet Singh restored the scoring momentum in the 29th minute, tapping into an empty net after Harmanpreet’s dragflick was deflected away and Hardik Singh squared the ball back into the danger area. Dilpreet Singh then made it 8-0 before the end of the second quarter.
The goals continued to flow in the third period. Manpreet Singh scored with a powerful dragflick in the 31st minute, followed by Vivek Prasad’s backhand finish five minutes later.
Dilpreet added his second in the 38th minute after combining with Sukhjeet, while Jugraj completed his hat-trick in the 42nd minute by converting a penalty stroke.
Harmanpreet struck again in the 44th minute after India earned their third consecutive penalty corner, taking the score to 13-0 at the end of the third quarter.
Abhishek completed his hat-trick early in the final period, scoring India’s 14th goal in the 49th minute. Sri Lanka finally found a breakthrough moments later when Suresh Rathnayake produced a fine tomahawk finish to make it 14-1.
India responded immediately, with Jugraj converting another penalty stroke in the 53rd minute to complete his four-goal haul. Dilpreet then scored his third two minutes later following excellent stick work from Mandeep.
India comfortably saw out the remaining minutes to register their second straight Pool A victory.
The 16-goal haul came after India’s 13-1 demolition of Indonesia in their opening match, in which Dilpreet scored four times. The Sri Lanka game also marked the first goal India have conceded in the competition.
India will now turn their attention to their remaining Pool A fixtures as they continue their campaign for a place in the knockout stages.
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