Asian Games 2023 Hockey: Harmanpreet Singh scores four as India beat Singapore 16-1

The Indian men’s hockey team registered a comprehensive 16-1 win over Singapore in its second Asian Games 2023 Pool A match at the Gongshu Canal Sports Park Stadium in Hangzhou, China, on Tuesday.

Mandeep Singh (12′, 30′, 51′), Lalit Upadhyay (16′), Gurjant Singh (22′), Vivek Sagar Prasad (23′), Harmanpreet Singh (24′, 39′,40′, 42′), Manpreet Singh (37′), Samsher Singh (38′), Abhishek (51′, 52′) and Varun Kumar (55′, 56′) scored in India’s huge win. Muhammad Zaki Bin Zulkarnain (53′) scored the consolation goal for Singapore.

India, who have won the Asian Games men’s hockey Pool A championship three times, cemented their position atop the standings with this victory. Each pool’s top two finishers advance to the semifinals. India’s men’s hockey team, currently ranked third in the FIH Rankings, defeated Uzbekistan with a commanding 16-0 victory, while Singapore was defeated by Pakistan 11-0 in their opening match.

With talismanic captain Harmanpreet Singh returning to the playing XI after missing the Uzbekistan match, India launched an immediate offensive, forcing world No. 49 Singapore to defend deep. India continued to advance into the opposing half and opened the scoring with a field goal.

To break the tie, Mandeep Singh redirected a pass from Gurjant Singh. India led 1-0 at the end of the first quarter. India’s lead was doubled just minutes into the second quarter. Sukhjeet dribbled inside the Singapore half and passed it to an onrushing Lalit Upadhyay, who converted to put India up 2-0.

Before Singapore could recover from the early blows, India tacked on four more goals, courtesy of Gurjant Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Harmanpreet Singh, and Mandeep Singh, who scored his second goal of the game in the final seconds of the first half. The score at the half was 6-0 in favour of India.

The Indian men’s hockey team will play defending Asian Games champions Japan next on Thursday.