Indian women's hockey team serves goal buffet on a platter to fans in Bihar

Rajgir, Bihar: Indian women's hockey team routed Thailand 13-0 in their third game of the Women's Asian Champions Trophy 2024 at Rajgir Hockey Stadium on Thursday.

Deepika dished out a five-star performance with five goals while Manisha Chauhan, Lalremsiami, Preeti Dubey, and Beauty Dung Dung scored a brace each.

The game against Thailand was expected to be a cake-walk and India didn't disappoint scoring the first goal in the second minute as Deepika's reverse hit found the back of the net.

India was dominant post the first goal and entered the circle multiple times but failed to find the goal.

In the eighth minute, Sangita Kumari ran on the baseline after receiving a pass from the midfield and passed it on to Preeti Dubey who duly converted it to make 2-0.

Thailand made an attack in the 9th minute through Kunjira Inpa but Udita was on hand to intercept the move.

India sounded the board again in 11th minute as Lalremsiami, playing in her 150th game, scored from a loose ball which fell from the save made by the Thai goalkeeper.

India ended the first quarter with 3-0 and entered the second quarter winning a penalty corner in the 17th minute but it was executed poorly by Deepika.

However, she made it up for the miss two minutes later as her angled shot found a way past the Thai defence making it 4-0.

Beauty Dung Dung got on the scoresheet later in the last moments of the first half as India missed four penalty corners in the second quarter.

In the third quarter, India attacked constantly for first ten minutes but failed to find the back of the net missing a penalty corner in the process.

With five minutes left in the quarter, India initiated a counterattack through Vaishnavi, who found Preeti running beyond Thailand’s defence. Preeti bypassed the onrushing keeper to knock the ball into an empty goal, scoring her second and making it 6-0 for India.

The goal by Preeti opened the floodgates as Deepika scored three consecutive goals in the last three minutes of the third quarter.

First, she stepped up from a penalty corner to find the top left corner of the goal, completing her hattrick as the quarter came to a close.

With seconds left, Deepika again pounced on a deflected ball in the shooting circle and unleashed a rocket on the reverse to score her fourth goal. But Deepika wasn't done yet—from another penalty corner, she picked the bottom right corner this time, making it 9-0 for India.

India continued the dominance in the final quarter and scored four more goals with Manisha Chauhan scoring her first-ever international goal through drag flick in the 55th minute.

Following this, Bichu Devi Kharibam was pulled out to further bolster the Indian attack, which immediately resulted in another penalty corner. Udita skillfully slapped the ball to Lalremsiami, who deflected it into the goal.

Not long after, Manisha capitalized on a loose ball in the shooting circle, rolling it into the goal from a wide angle to make it 13-0. This emphatic scoreline sealed India’s comprehensive victory, showcasing their superiority throughout the match.

India will face a tough test against China on 16th November after a rest day which is touted to be the best game of the tournament.