India make mincemeat of Hong Kong, win 26-0!
The hockey competition at the Asian Games has been a nightmare for lower-ranked nations as they have lost by huge margins, but nothing beats the Indian men’s team steamrolling Hong Kong 26-0!
In the process, P R Sreejeshled side recorded India’s biggest win ever in international competition, breaking the previous record which stood for 86 years.
Until this afternoon, Lal Shash Bokhari-led India’s 24-1 rout of USA at the 1932 Olympic at Los Angles stood tall, but India bettered the record in style on Wednesday. The defending champions had earlier thrashed hosts Indonesia 17-0 in their opening match on Monday.
As expected, India, ranked 5, overpowered their rivals, who are way down at 45 in the world rankings, to notch up their second successive win in Pool A, at the GBK Hockey Field, where they were cheered by local fans too.
Drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh scored five goals, whereas Harmanpreet Singh netted four and Akashdeep struck three.
The record for the highest number of goals scored by an individual still belongs to Roop Singh, who struck 10 goals in the 1932 match.
On Wednesday, as many as 14 players got into the scoring sheet. Besides the two drag-flickers, Akashdeep Singh (2nd, 32nd, 35th), Lalit Upadhayay (17th, 19th), Manpreet Singh (3rd, 17th), SV Sunil (7th), Surender Kumar (55th), Varun Kumar (23rd, 30th), Vivek Sagar Prasad (14th), Amit Rohidas (27th), Chinglensana Singh (51st), Mandeep Singh (21st), Simranjeet Singh (53rd) and Dilpreet Singh (48th).
With 6-0 lead in the first quarter itself, India raised their attacks in the second, striking nine goals. The relentless raids continued after the change in the ends but India could score just three goals in the third quarter. In the last quarter, India netted eight goals. “A win is always welcome, but the boys dropped their pace, after the half-time,” said chief coach Harendra Singh said.
India’s real test, however, begins on Friday when they take on a mighty Japan.