Key Takeaways
- India delivered a dominant 13-0 defeat over Hong Kong China to lead Pool A.
- Star players Vandana Katariya, Deepika and Sangita Kumari each recorded hat‑tricks.
- The victory secures India’s place in the semifinals of the Asian Games women’s hockey tournament.
Hangzhou: The Indian women’s hockey team ripped Hong Kong China by inflicting a 13-0 defeat in its final Pool A match of the Asian Games 2023 at the Gongshu Canal Sports Park Stadium here on Tuesday.
Vandana Katariya, Deepika, Monika, Deep Grace Ekka, Sangita Kumari and Navneet Kumar struck goals in India’s resounding win.
With this win, India finished on the top of Pool A with 10 points from four matches. The top two teams from each pool qualify for the semifinals.
India will face the runner ups of the Pool B in the semifinals on Thursday.
Earlier, India drew with South Korea 1-all on Sunday after beating Singapore 13-0 and Malaysia 6-0 last week.
India kept Hong Kong China under the pump right from the word go, and minutes into the match Vanda Katariya opened the account.
Before Hong Kong China could regroup from the first goal, Deepika, Monika and Deep scored to make it 4-0 before the first quarter ended.
India carried the momentum in the second quarter and netted their fifth via a field goal by Vandana Katariya.
Sangita Kumari smashed the sixth goal, a result of constant foray into the rival’s defence.
The Hong Kong China defenders prevented India from hitting the goal boards further, and India ended the first half 6-0 in their favour.
Post-break, India continued with their attack in Hong Kong China’s striking zone and Sangita and Navneet added to the team’s tally in the final two quarters.
Deep, Vandana and Deepika also struck goals to complete their hat-tricks as India kept its cleansheet going ahead.
