The Indian women's hockey team got off to a thunderous start at the 2026 Asian Games, hammering Uzbekistan 19-0 in their opening Pool B game on Sunday at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium in Kakamigahara. Deepika Sehrawat was the star of the show, netting eight goals, the most by any individual in a women's field hockey game, with six coming from penalty corners. Apart from Deepika, Ishika Chaudhary scored three goals, while Lalremsiami, Baljeet Kaur, Neha Goyal, Navneet Kaur, Lalthantluangi and Sakshi Rana also found the net.
The victory margin was massive and noteworthy, but was it the biggest for the Indian side at the Asian Games? The answer is no. India’s biggest win at the Asiad came 44 years ago, in the 1982 edition of the Games in New Delhi.
Deep Dive
What was Deepika Sehrawat's impact in the match against Uzbekistan during the Asian Games 2026?
How does India's 19-0 victory over Uzbekistan compare to their previous Asian Games wins?
Why is the 1982 Asian Games significant for the Indian women's hockey team?
Not many would remember, but that edition of the Asian Games was the first time the Indian women’s hockey team competed. The campaign began with a rout of Hong Kong, and the team never looked back, winning all five games and scoring a massive 37 goals. They were equally impressive defensively, conceding just one goal throughout the campaign. The 1982 edition remains the only occasion when the Indian women’s team won a gold medal.
Meanwhile, today’s win is now India’s third-biggest victory in women’s hockey at the Asian Games. The record stands at 22-0, while the second-biggest is the 21-0 win over Kazakhstan in 2018. In that victory eight years ago, the Indian side dominated from start to finish, producing wave after wave of attacks as the game progressed.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, today’s win is now India’s third-biggest victory in women’s hockey at the Asian Games. The record stands at 22-0, while the second-biggest is the 21-0 win over Kazakhstan in 2018. In that victory eight years ago, the Indian side dominated from start to finish, producing wave after wave of attacks as the game progressed.
{{/usCountry}}Ten Indian players found the scoresheet, underlining the depth of the team's attacking performance. Navneet Kaur was the leading scorer with five goals, while Gurjit Kaur added four. Vandana Katariya and several other players also contributed to the rout. India had already begun their campaign with an 8-0 victory over Indonesia and continued their strong run by beating South Korea 4-1 and Thailand 5-0. They then defeated China 1-0 in the semi-final to reach the gold-medal match, only to lose out against Japan.
All you need to know about the 1982 women's gold
At the 1982 edition of the Asian Games, the Indian women’s team beat South Korea 5-1, Malaysia 4-0, Japan 3-0 and Singapore 3-0, following their emphatic win over Hong Kong. Led by captain Eliza Nelson and featuring players such as Razia Zaidi, Varsha Soni, Sudha Chaudhary and Rajbir Kaur, the team combined attacking quality with defensive discipline throughout the tournament, conceding just one goal across five games.
The biggest win overall
In terms of the biggest wins across competitions for the Indian women’s team, the record belongs to the 24-0 victory over Nepal at the 2016 South Asian Games in Guwahati. Poonam Barla and Soundarya Yendala were the leading scorers, with four goals apiece. Rani Rampal, Jaspreet Kaur, Neha Goyal and Deepika also completed hat-tricks, while Gurjit Kaur and Preeti Dubey added two goals each.
The result established a new benchmark for the Indian women’s side and remains their biggest win in senior international hockey. India went on to win the women’s hockey gold medal at the Games.