After World Cup low, India start afresh at Asian Games with 13-1 demolition of Indonesia

The standout performer of the match was undoubtedly Dilpreet. His four goals piled the misery on Indonesia, who looked lacklustre to say the least.

Putting the lingering shadows of an underwhelming World Cup campaign firmly behind them, defending champions India opened their Asian Games title defence with a ruthless 13-1 demolition of Indonesia at Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium in Kakamigahara on Sunday.

India defeated Indonesia 13-1 in the men's hockey Pool A tie on Sunday. (Asian Hockey Federation)

For a team desperate to secure direct qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, this Pool A opener served as both a vital palette cleanser and a commanding statement of intent.

As the undisputed kings of Asian hockey — holding the Asia Cup, the 2023 and 2024 Asian Champions Trophy titles, and the Asiad crown — world No.8 India has thoroughly conquered the continent in the last few years. Yet history poses one final hurdle: India has never successfully defended an Asian Games gold medal.

But they have started their journey in solid fashion with striker Dilpreet Singh scoring four goals (18th, 19th, 37th, 49th). Shilanand Lakra (6th, 35th) and Sukhjeet Singh (38th, 48th) scored a brace each, with Abhishek (12th), Rajinder Singh (19th), Mandeep Singh (21st), skipper Harmanpreet Singh (28th) and Jugraj Singh (49th) chipping in with a goal each.

Indonesia also got on the board thanks to skipper Aulia Al Ardh’s (33rd) drag-flick. This was India’s third successive win over Indonesia, having beaten them 17-0 at the 2018 Asian Games and 16-0 at the 2022 Asia Cup. Sunday’s contest, the previous games were also round robin contests.

The script, however, faced a brief disruption in the opening minutes. Ranked 58th in the world, Indonesia refused to sit back, deploying a surprisingly fast, counter-attacking strategy that briefly caught the reigning champions off guard. Not only were they aggressive, they also intercepted Indian passes regularly and tried playing in the Indian half.

But normalcy was restored in the sixth minute when Lakra capitalised on a rebound from a Harmanpreet penalty corner (PC) drag-flick, which had been initially blocked by Indonesian goalkeeper Alam Fajar. Forward Abhishek doubled the advantage in the 12th minute, effectively extinguishing the underdogs’ early fire.

Once the first quarter concluded, the Indonesian resistance ran out of steam, and the floodgates opened. India punched in five goals in a devastating second quarter.

Dilpreet ignited the onslaught with back-to-back strikes in the 18th and 19th minutes. Rajinder immediately added another in the 19th, followed swiftly by Mandeep in the 21st minute. Skipper and defender Harmanpreet, who intriguingly spent significant stretches operating as a left forward to manage the flank from defence to the frontline, redeemed an earlier missed stroke by capping off the first-half scoring at 7-0 in the 28th minute.

Despite the lopsided scoreline, Indonesia found a silver lining in the second half. In the 33rd minute, skipper Al Ardh executed a flawless drag-flick into the top right corner, beating India goalkeeper Suraj Karkera to register Indonesia's only goal against the eight Olympic champions.

Goalkeeper Fajar also emerged with enormous credit, putting up a resolute defense and pulling off a string of fantastic second-half saves to prevent a repeat of the 17-0 and 16-0 thrashings from previous encounters.

Ultimately, India’s sheer firepower proved overwhelming. Lakra added his second in the 35th minute while Sukhjeet netted a brace with PC specialist Jugraj converting in the 47th.

The standout performer of the match was undoubtedly Dilpreet. Aided by some beautiful stick work from Raj Kumar Pal, who made a return to the squad after missing the World Cup, Dilpreet secured his hat-trick in the 37th minute before adding a fourth in the 49th to complete the 13-1 rout.

With the rust shaken off and the forward line finding its rhythm, India took their first step toward the semi-finals. While tougher tests await in the pool stages, this comprehensive victory reasserts that the Asian giants are back on track and hungry for gold.

They will next face Sri Lanka on Tuesday.