Asian Games 2026: Indian women’s hockey trumps Singapore, sets up South Korea semi-final
(Courtesy : Asian Hockey Federation)
The unbeaten Indian team topped Pool B with their fifth consecutive win, beating Singapore 7-0
The Gifu region remained overcast and rainy for a second successive day. But the weather did little to slow the Indian women’s hockey team, who overcame a stubborn Singapore defence to register a comfortable 7-0 victory in Kakamigahara on Sunday. The result marked their fifth consecutive win of the Asian Games 2026 campaign.
India’s victory also confirmed their position at the top of Pool B, setting up a semi-final against South Korea on September 30. The Koreans secured second place in Pool A after defeating Malaysia 2-1 earlier in the day. The other semi-final will see China take on Japan.
India’s dominant pool-stage campaign saw them finish with a commanding goal difference of +63, having secured victories over Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and Singapore. Their most competitive pool game was against hosts Japan, which ended in a hard-fought 3-1 victory.
Sunelita Toppo’s two goals led India’s tally against Singapore, with other strikes coming from captain Salima Tete, Lalremsiami, Rutuja Dadaso Pisal, Nikki Pradhan and Deepika.
Domination from the start
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India dominated possession and territory from the opening whistle and earned the first of their 27 penalty corners in the opening minute after Lalremsiami found the foot of a Singapore defender.
Deepika’s drag-flick, however, was deflected away. India pressed and earned another PC in the second minute after a successful video referral, but Singapore’s defence stood firm. Singapore defended in numbers, while goalkeeper Felissa Lai produced a series of saves to keep India at bay.
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India continued to create openings, with Ishika combining well with captain Salima in the eighth minute, only for a timely interception to deny the Indian skipper. More than five penalty corners in the opening quarter went unrewarded as Singapore repeatedly frustrated India.
The pressure finally told two minutes into the second quarter. Navneet’s first-time attempt off a cross was saved, but the rebound fell kindly to Salima, who found a gap to put India 1-0 ahead in the 17th minute.
India quickly built momentum. A penalty corner in the 22nd minute resulted in a goalmouth scramble, with Sunelita applying the finishing touch from close range to double the advantage. A couple of minutes later, Sunelita struck again, deflecting Deepika’s penalty-corner flick after making a sharp run towards the near post.
India then made it 4-0 in the 26th minute when Deepika’s flick took a deflection off Lalremsiami’s stick and found the back of the net. Three minutes later, a defensive lapse presented Rutuja with an opportunity, and she calmly lifted the ball past the goalkeeper to make it 5-0.
After a goalless opening quarter, India scored five times in the second to take a commanding lead into half-time.
No stopping post-break
India added a sixth goal in the 35th minute after Singapore failed to deal cleanly with back-to-back penalty corners. Baljeet reacted quickest to recover the ball from the second attempt and kept the attack alive, eventually setting up another scoring opportunity.
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A subsequent goalmouth scramble ended with Nikki Pradhan pushing the ball over the line.
Singapore remained compact and continued to frustrate India through the third quarter. Lalremsiami came close twice in the 40th and 42nd minutes, but the goalkeeper dealt with both attempts. India then earned a succession of penalty corners towards the end of the quarter, yet could not extend their advantage.
The Singapore defence held firm in the final quarter, keeping India scoreless for the first 10 minutes. Deepika came close to adding another goal from a penalty corner, but her aerial effort was expertly palmed away by the goalkeeper.
India eventually found their seventh goal in the 55th minute. After another penalty corner was awarded, Deepika made no mistake this time, finding the corner of the goal with a precise flick to make it 7-0.
Deepika had another opportunity from a PC a minute later but could not add to her tally. Singapore then created their best chance of the match when Qian Xiao Kwek found herself one-on-one against India’s goalkeeper Bichu Devi after a turnover, but her attempt went wide.
The clock ticked past the 60-minute mark as India completed a comfortable 7-0 victory, setting up a semi-final clash against South Korea on September 30.
By what margin did India Women beat Singapore in hockey at Asian Games 2026?
The unbeaten Indian team topped Pool B with their fifth consecutive win, beating Singapore 7-0.
Has India qualified for the semis in women’s hockey?
Yes, India’s victory also confirmed their position at the top of Pool B, setting up a semi-final against South Korea on September 30.
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