India beat Indonesia 16-0 in Asia Cup hockey tournament

Defending champions India won a one-sided 16-0 win against Indonesia and entered the knockout stage. In this match of Pull A played today, t...

Defending champions India won a one-sided 16-0 win against Indonesia and entered the knockout stage. In this match of Pull A played today, the Indian team dominated Indonesia from the beginning and continued to score goals. India took a 6-0 lead in the first two quarters and then scored the remaining 10 goals in the next two quarters. Deepsan Tirkey scored five goals for India, while Sudev also scored a hat-trick. Earlier, Pakistan had suffered a 2-3 defeat at the hands of Japan, after which as per the rules, India had to register a 15-0 win against Indonesia to reach the next round. India did the same and scored one more goal and won 16-0.

Under Sardar Singh's guidance, India have fielded a young team in the tournament, with two stalwarts Birender Lakra and SV Sunil deciding to retire. However, both these players could not do anything special in both the matches. India lost a goal in the last minute to a 1-1 draw with Pakistan in the first match. Japan then defeated India 5-2. On the other hand, Pakistan also suffered a 2-3 defeat at the hands of Japan. India and Pakistan both had four points each, so a 15-0 win was needed to go to the next round on the basis of goal difference from Pakistan and Team India got it.