India thrash Indonesia 16-0: A look at Indian hockey team’s five biggest wins in history

Indian men’s team slammed six goals in the final quarter to record a 16-0 win over Indonesia in a thrilling Pool A game of the Asia Cup 2022 on Thursday.

India needed to win the contest by at least a 15-0 margin to qualify and the young side thrived under pressure.

With the resounding win, India also qualified for the Super 4s due to better goal difference (1) than Pakistan, and further dashed the western neighbours’ hopes for World Cup qualification since only the top three teams will be given tickets for the big event. Dipsan Tirkey (5 goals) played a crucial role in the team’s memorable win in Jakarta.

On the ocassion, we have a look at India’s biggest wins in international hockey:

5. India (men) 22-1 against Hong Kong, 1954

Indian men, who claimed Olympic gold in both 1952 and 1956, travelled to Hong Kong for a Test series. With world-class players in the ranks, India enjoyed a goal-fest to outclass a relatively weaker opposition.

The resounding win came at a time when hockey was not recognised as an international sport, and it wasn’t a part of the 1954 Asian Games in Manila. The 22-1 win showed India’s supremacy in the sport, especially when hockey icons like Leslie Claudius, Balbir Singh Senior and Udham Singh were in their prime.

4. India (women) 22-0 against Hong Kong, 1982 Asian Games

Indian women’s hockey team dished out a stellar performance at the Asian Games to score 37 goals in five group games and claim the silver medal at the competition.

While the men’s team trumped Hong Kong 22-1 in 1954, the women’s team bettered the end result by recording a 22-0 victory.

It all happened at the Shivaji Stadium in New Delhi as fans were thrilled to witness the women get off to a flying start in their Asian Games campaign. They, however, lost to South Korea in the final and signed off with a silver.

3. India (men) 24-1 against USA, 1932 Olympics

With a gold at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, India were in search of another medal when the country was lurching under financial pressure. But the Indian team won a second-consecutive Olympic gold medal, beating hosts USA with a score of 24-1.

Dhyan Chand and Roop Singh produced a flurry of goals to help India write their name into history books. Roop Singh scored a staggering 10 goals while Dhyan Chand amassed eight. Gurmit Singh Kullar scored five goals while Eric Pinniger scored the other.

2. India (women) 24-0 against Nepal, 2016 South Asian Games

The 12th South Asian Games saw the Indian women’s hockey team begin their campaign with a 24-0 win over Nepal. In a lop-sided round-robin game that resembled a practice game, the Indian women completely outfoxed the opposition at the Moullana Tayabullah Stadium, Guwahati.

Strikers Soundarya Yendala (15th, 52nd, 62nd and 64th minutes) and Poonam Barla (7th, 472nd, 43rd and 51st) scored the most with four strikes each. Four players — Rani, Jaspreet Kaur, Neha Goyal and Deepika scored three goals each, while Gurjit Kaur and Preeti Dubey hit the remaining goals for India.

1. India (men) 26-0 against Hong Kong, 2018 Asian Games

The Indian men’s hockey team hammered Hong Kong 26-0 to record the biggest-ever win at the Asian Games 2018 and break an 86-year-old record. India’s previous biggest victory was a 24-1 win against the USA in the Olympics.

India anhillated Hongkong after Rupinderpal Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and Akashdeep Singh scored a hat-trick each. Manpreet Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, Varun Kumar, SV Sunil, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Mandeep Singh, Amit Rohidas, Dilpreet Singh, Chinglensana Singh, Simranjeet Singh and Surender Kumar were the other goal-scorers for India. In the one-sided contest, India even took their goalkeeper off the field with seven minutes to go.