India smashed 16 goals and conceded only once during their second Pool A match against Sri Lanka
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Indian Hockey team during their match against Sri Lanka(Credits: X/Hockey India)
India continued their dominant start to the Asian Games hockey tournament with a 16-1 win over Sri Lanka in their second Pool A match on Tuesday.
Jugraj Singh led the scoring with four goals, while Abhishek and Dilpreet Singh completed hat-tricks each as India produced another big win after their 13-1 victory over Indonesia in their opening game.
India started on the front foot and needed only five minutes to open the scoringMandeep Singh finished off a move created by Abhishek to give India an early lead.
Jugraj then doubled the advantage in the 10th minute with a powerful drag-flick from a penalty cornerAbhishek added another a minute later with a field goal before captain Harmanpreet Singh converted a penalty corner in the 16th minute.
Abhishek scored his second of the match in the 17th minute, while Jugraj found the net again six minutes later from another penalty corner as India raced to a 6-0 lead.
Sukhjeet Singh made it seven in the 29th minute after reacting quickest to a loose ball following a penalty-corner attemptDilpreet then added India’s eighth goal just before half-time with a deflection from Mandeep’s pass.
India showed no signs of slowing down after the breakManpreet Singh scored a rare field goal in the 31st minute before Vivek Sagar Prasad made it 10-0 five minutes later with a reverse-stick strike.
Dilpreet scored his second of the match in the 38th minute after combining with SukhjeetJugraj completed his hat-trick in the 42nd minute by converting a penalty stroke, while Harmanpreet added his second goal from a penalty corner three minutes later.
Abhishek completed his hat-trick in the 49th minute with a back-stick finish.
Sri Lanka then created a small piece of history when Suresh Rathnayake scored in the 50th minuteIt was Sri Lanka’s first-ever goal against India in Asian Games history.
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India responded immediatelyJugraj scored his fourth goal from the spot in the 53rd minute before Dilpreet completed his hat-trick two minutes later after receiving a pass from Mandeep.
India will next face South Korea on Thursday.
