Asian Games: Indian men's hockey team pummels Singapore 16-1 in 2nd outing

Indian men's hockey team on Tuesday picked up its second consecutive victory at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, defeating Singapore 16-1 in a Pool A match.

In the match, forward Abhishek, who was named in the starting XI, also completed his 50 International Caps.

India captain and drag-flicking specialist Harmanpreet Singh (24', 39', 40', 42') scored four goals, while Mandeep Singh (12', 30', 51') scored a hat-trick. Abhishek (51', 52'), and Varun Kumar (55', 55') scored a brace each, while Lalit Kumar Upadhyay (16'), Gurjant Singh (22'), Vivek Sagar Prasad (23'), Manpreet Singh (37'), and Shamsher Singh (38'), also scored a goal each for India. Zaki Zulkarnain Muhammad (53') scored the lone goal for Singapore.

Attacking from left to right from the very onset of the match, skipper Harmanpreet Singh made long passes inside the striking circle to test Singapore's defence. India's quick movements with the ball troubled the opposition, but Singapore defended in numbers to keep India at bay in the first quarter.

Singapore goalkeeper Sandran Gugan made a crucial save after Harmanpreet Singh struck a powerful hit on target from a penalty corner. Mandeep Singh (12') finally broke the deadlock after picking a pass from Gurjant Singh and pushing the ball into the nets to make it 1-0 for India at the end of the first quarter.

India piles on five goals in 2nd quarter

India doubled its lead straight into the second quarter, with Lalit Kumar Upadhyay (16') striking the ball into the nets, after receiving a sublime pass from Sukhjeet Singh. The floodgates were opened as India hammered three quick goals in three minutes. First, it was Gurjant Singh (22') who tapped the ball into the net after receiving a pass from Mandeep Singh.

A minute later, Vivek Sagar Prasad (23') also deflected it into the nets with a soft touch, and then Harmanpreet Singh (24') opened up his goals tally, scoring from a Penalty Corner to make it 5-0. A fantastic variation in the Penalty Corner allowed Mandeep Singh (30') to get his second goal of the match late in the quarter, and India went into halftime with a 6-0 lead.

Five more followed in 3rd quarter

India continued to assert its pressure at the start of the third quarter, playing deep in Singapore's half. Singapore mounted a dangerous attack of its own but was stopped in its tracks by Jarmanpreet Singh. Manpreet Singh (37') made the most of another variation in the Penalty Corner, as he deflected the ball into the nets to make it 7-0 for India. A minute later, Shamsher Singh (38') made a powerful strike to extend India's lead to 8-0. Skipper Harmanpreet Singh (39', 40', 42') showcased his supreme form with the flicks as he converted three consecutive Penalty Corners to make it 11-0 for India to end the third quarter.

Mandeep completes hat-trick

Singapore started pushing deep in their half to prevent India from creating any more attacks in the final quarter. Dribbling past the Singaporean defence, Mandeep Singh (51') pushed the ball into the nets to complete his hat-trick and made it 12-0 for India. Abhishek (51', 52') scored twice in two minutes, making the most of errors from Singapore defenders. A surprise counter-attack from Singapore led to Zaki Zulkarnain (53') scoring a goal for his team. Varun Kumar (55', 55') added his name to the scoresheet, scoring twice from Penalty Corners as India won the match 16-1.

India will face off against Japan on Thursday, September 28, at 6:15 AM Indian Standard Time.