Harmanpreet and co have picked up serious momentum ahead of India’s semi-final against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 1
Share Article
https://www.india.com/sports/hockey/asian-games-2026-harmanpreet-dazzles-with-hat-trick-as-india-thrash-bangladesh-10-0-ahead-of-semi-final-against-pakistan-8531038/
Harmanpreet Singh starred with a sensational hat-trick(Photo: X/Hockey India)
Defending champions India completed their Pool A campaign at the Asian Games with a 10-0 win over Bangladesh in heavy rain on MondayCaptain Harmanpreet Singh scored a hat-trick as India finished at the top of the group and booked a semifinal against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 1.
India had a perfect run in Pool A, beating Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Japan, South Korea and BangladeshThey finished with a goal difference of +45 and will now get a two-day break before their semifinalMalaysia and South Korea will meet in the other semifinal.
Read more:
Asian Games 2026: Archery to Shooting – Here is the entire Indian contingent’s schedule for day 10
India made a fast start despite the difficult conditionsAbhishek opened the scoring in the third minute after Sanjay found him inside the Bangladesh circleThe former moved to his left before producing his trademark reverse hit past the goalkeeper.
Bangladesh had a chance to respond when they earned a penalty corner in the 12th minuteAmirul Islam’s drag-flick, however, was kept out by Indian goalkeeper Suraj KarkeraIndia thought they had another penalty corner soon after, but Bangladesh successfully used a video referral to overturn the decision.
The rain became heavier in the second quarter and the pitch started to get waterloggedIndia still managed to increase their lead in the 22nd minute.
Mandeep Singh was blocked inside the circle, leading to a penalty cornerJugraj Singh’s drag-flick hit a defender’s foot on the post and India were awarded a penalty strokeJugraj made no mistake from the spot to make it 2-0.
Harmanpreet then added India’s third in the 27th minuteMandeep created the opening for another penalty corner and the captain fired a powerful flick past the Bangladesh defence.
India continued their attack after the breakDilpreet Singh and Sukhjeet Singh combined with quick passes in the 32nd minute, leaving Sukhjeet with an easy finish into an open goal.
Harmanpreet struck again in the 40th minute after Vivek Sagar Prasad won a penalty cornerHis powerful drag-flick gave India a 5-0 lead.
Shilanand Lakra then scored twice in the space of two minutes, finding the net in the 44th and 45th minutes to make it 7-0.
India added three more goals in the final quarterHarmanpreet completed his hat-trick while Sanjay and Mandeep Singh also got on the scoresheet as India completed a 10-0 victory.
The match had started 30 minutes late after heavy rain interrupted the earlier Pakistan-Oman fixtureThe difficult conditions made the game challenging, but India handled the waterlogged pitch better and maintained their control throughout.
India will now face Pakistan in the semifinal, while Malaysia will take on South Korea in the other last-four clash.
(With PTI inputs)
