Indian field hockey team (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
India’s men’s hockey team has been dominant at the Asian Games 2026, beating Sri Lanka 16-1 on September 22.
It followed an earlier 13-1 win over Indonesia in the tournament opener.
Jugraj Singh scored four goals against Sri Lanka, with Abhishek and Dilpreet Singh each scoring hat-tricks.
India’s women’s hockey team has also won big, beating Uzbekistan 19-0 and Indonesia 17-1.
The Games are being held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4.
Abhishek and Dilpreet Singh each scored hat-tricks.
Harmanpreet Singh added two goals to India’s tally.
Manpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad and Sukhjeet Singh scored one goal each.
It was India’s second Pool A match of the tournament.
India had earlier beaten Indonesia 13-1 in their tournament opener.
The result keeps India’s men’s team unbeaten and dominant through the pool stage so far.
India’s women’s hockey team has also had a strong tournament, having beaten Uzbekistan 19-0 and Indonesia 17-1 in earlier matches.
Field hockey at the Asian Games 2026 is being played across the Games, running from September 19 to October 4.
India has traditionally been one of the strongest teams in Asian hockey, with multiple Asian Games gold medals in the men’s competition.
The team is expected to face stronger opposition as the tournament progresses toward the knockout stages.
India’s cricket team also won a gold medal at the same Games on September 22, beating Sri Lanka in the final.
The men’s hockey competition at the Asian Games uses a pool format followed by knockout stages to decide the medals.
India’s previous Asian Games men’s hockey gold medals include titles in 2014 and 1998, among other editions.
The Indian men’s team has featured a mix of experienced internationals and younger players in this year’s squad.
Goalkeeping and penalty-corner conversion have been highlighted by commentators as strengths of this year’s Indian side.
Indian field hockey team (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
