HighLights
  1. Deepika was simply unstoppable from penalty corners.
  2. Navneet Kaur also enjoyed a prolific outing.
  3. She had already scored 11 goals in India’s first two Asian Games matches.

Asian Games 2026: India continued their dominant run in the women’s hockey competition as they registered a massive 20-1 victory over Thailand in their third Pool B match on Wednesday.

Drag-flicker Deepika Sehrawat was the star of the show, scoring a record nine goals to help India secure their third consecutive win of the tournament.

Deepika was simply unstoppable from penalty corners, converting all nine of her attempts as India completely dominated Thailand from the opening whistle.

The Indian side had already recorded 19-0 and 17-1 wins over Uzbekistan and Indonesia respectively, and continued their goal-scoring spree in emphatic fashion.

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Deepika's Dominance

Deepika opened the scoring in the second minute before finding the net again in the eighth and ninth minutes. She added further goals in the 24th, 33rd, 36th, 39th, 51st and 57th minutes to complete an extraordinary nine-goal haul.

Navneet Kaur also enjoyed a prolific outing, scoring four goals in the 4th, 29th, 35th and 51st minutes. Rutuja Dadaso Pisal completed her hat-trick with goals in the 10th, 11th and 47th minutes.

Neha Goyal, Lalremsiami, Sakshi Rana and captain Salima Tete were also among the goalscorers as India raced to an 11-0 lead at half-time. Thailand eventually found a consolation goal through Supansa Samanso in the 57th minute, but it did little to change the outcome.

For Deepika, the performance adds another memorable chapter to an impressive comeback story. In 2025, she became the first Indian to win the prestigious Poligras Magic Skill Award for her extraordinary solo goal against the Netherlands.

Deepika's Comeback From Injury

Soon after, her career was threatened by a severe Grade III hamstring tear. Following months of rehabilitation and a difficult recovery, Deepika returned strongly and finished as the joint-highest scorer at the FIH Nations Cup 2026 in June.

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She had already scored 11 goals in India’s first two Asian Games matches, with eight coming against Uzbekistan and three against Indonesia.

Her nine-goal performance against Thailand has taken her tally even higher and further underlined her importance to India’s attack.

India currently lead Pool B with three wins from three matches. They will next face hosts Japan on Friday. The top team from each pool will qualify for the semi-finals of the 12-team competition.


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