Asian Games 2026: Deepika, Rutuja Lead Indian Hockey Team to 17-1 Win Over Indonesia

The Indian women's hockey team continued its spectacular start to the Asian Games 2026, thrashing Indonesia 17-1 in its second Pool B match on Monday, with Deepika Sehrawat, Rutuja Dadaso Pisal and Navneet Kaur scoring hat-tricks.

The victory gave India its second consecutive win after the team opened its campaign with a 19-0 demolition of Uzbekistan. India have now scored 36 goals in two matches while conceding just one.

Deepika, who had scored a record eight goals against Uzbekistan, once again opened India's account in the eighth minute with a powerful penalty-corner dragflick. Sunelita Toppo doubled the advantage in the 11th minute before Lalremsiami and Rutuja added further goals to give India a 4-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Lalremsiami scored again in the 16th minute, while Rutuja struck in the 20th minute after receiving a pass from Neha. Sakshi Rana then found the net before Deepika and Sunelita converted penalty corners to take India into half-time with a commanding 9-0 lead.

India dominated possession in the first half, enjoying 55 per cent of the ball and earning nine penalty corners compared with Indonesia's two.

Indonesia briefly reduced the deficit through Innes Aditiya in the 32nd minute, but India quickly restored its dominance. Captain Salima Tete, Navneet and Ishika Chaudhary scored in quick succession before Rutuja and Deepika completed their respective hat-tricks. Navneet then added two more goals in the final quarter to complete her hat-trick, while Sakshi also scored her second of the match.

The match also marked a historic moment for veteran goalkeeper Savita Punia, who surpassed Vandana Katariya's record of 320 senior international appearances to become the most-capped player in Indian women's hockey history, reaching 321 caps. Hockey India announced a ₹10 lakh cash reward to mark the achievement.

India, led by captain Salima Tete and coached by Sjoerd Marijne, entered the Asian Games after securing a historic fifth-place finish at the 2026 FIH Women's Hockey World Cup, their best-ever World Cup finish in more than five decades.

The Indian women will next face Thailand on September 23. The Asian Games also provide a direct qualification route to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, with the gold medallist earning the qualification berth.