Deepika's 8-goal blitz powers India to 19-0 thrashing of Uzbekistan at Asian Games

India's women's hockey team began their Asian Games campaign in emphatic fashion, cruising to a 19-0 win over Uzbekistan in their opening Pool B match here on Sunday.The contest was expected to be heavily one-sided and India lived up to those expectations from the opening whistle, repeatedly breaching an Uzbekistan defence that struggled to cope with the intensity and quality of the Indian attacks.Deepika was the star of the show, scoring eight times in a remarkable individual performance. She found the net in the 8th, 22nd, 25th, 33rd, 36th, 38th, 41st and 54th minutes to lead India's goal fest.Lalremsiami opened the scoring in the seventh minute with a close-range field goal before Deepika added India's second a minute later. Ishika then extended the lead in the 11th minute with a superb first-time finish from the left side of the circle after being set up by Sunelita Toppo.Baljeet Kaur made it 4-0 in the 12th minute, while Neha added another field goal six minutes later.Deepika then took centre stage again, converting a penalty corner with a powerful dragflick into the bottom-right corner. Navneet Kaur followed with a field goal before Deepika struck once more from a penalty corner to send India into half-time with an 8-0 advantage.The onslaught continued after the break, with India adding 11 more goals across the final two quarters.Alongside Deepika's eight, Ishika scored three times, while Lalremsiami, Baljeet, Neha, Navneet Kaur, Lalthantluangi and Sakshi Rana also got on the scoresheet.Ishika struck in the 42nd and 54th minutes after her first-half goal, Navneet added another in the 45th, while Lalthantluangi scored in the 43rd and 51st minutes. Sakshi Rana also found the net in the 43rd minute.The gulf between the two teams was also reflected in the possession and attacking pressure, with Uzbekistan struggling to retain the ball for sustained periods.The match also marked a milestone for veteran India goalkeeper Savita Punia, who earned her 320th international cap. With that appearance, she joined Vandana Katariya as the joint-most capped Indian women's hockey player.Savita had little involvement in the contest, however, as Uzbekistan rarely managed to create meaningful pressure and spent much of the match trying to contain India's relentless attacks.India, the second-highest-ranked side in the competition, will next face Indonesia on Monday.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.