India Dominates: Women’s Hockey Team Crushes Uzbekistan 19–0
On a day of Indian dominance across arenas, it was the women’s hockey team that left the most brutal imprint.
Hockey: Deepika leads record-breaking 19–0 demolition
Facing Uzbekistan for the first time, India tore into their opponents and never let up, storming to a 19–0 win that fell just short of their all-time 22–0 benchmark but still rewrote the record books. The scoreboard barely paused; the waves of blue shirts didn’t either.
At the heart of it all stood Deepika Sehrawat. Ruthless, relentless, almost single-handedly dictating the margin, she struck eight times – the most goals ever scored by a woman in a single international hockey match. Eight. In one game.
Every Indian attack seemed to find her stick, every loose ball turned into another chance. By the time the final hooter sounded, the contest had long ceased to be a contest and had instead become a statement.
For coach Sjoerd Marijne and his staff, it was the kind of opening to a campaign that doesn’t just boost goal difference; it sends a message to the rest of the field. India have arrived in this tournament at full throttle.
Shooting: Silver on the board, two into the 10m final
While the hockey team was running up the score, India’s shooters were quietly piecing together a podium finish.
In the women’s 10m air rifle team event, the trio of Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod produced a composed, high-class qualification series to clinch silver with a combined total of 1898. Only China, with 1904.2, could keep them at arm’s length. Japan, on 1897.1, had to settle for bronze in a tightly packed leaderboard.
Within that silver, there was more good news. Sonam, shooting 634.1, and Elavenil, with 633.5, both booked their places in the individual final. Vidarsa, who finished with 630.4 in 12th place, missed out on the top-eight shootout but contributed crucially to the team tally.
The medals table will record just a silver, but with two Indians lining up in the final at 11:00 AM IST, this event is far from done from an Indian perspective.
Table tennis: Manav and Manush drag India towards control
On the table tennis tables, the margins were thinner, the tension sharper, but the theme of Indian resilience remained.
In the men’s team Group F clash against Indonesia, Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah both had to dig deep, and both found answers when the pressure peaked.
Manav, the World No. 48, was first up in a rollercoaster five-setter against Muhammad Junindra. He struck early, taking the opening game 11-7, only to be pegged back 8-11 in the second. He surged again with an 11-6 third, then watched Junindra respond with a controlled 11-6 in the fourth, the Indonesian keeping at least a three-point cushion throughout.
That set up a decider loaded with jeopardy. Manav flew out to a 5-1 lead, seemingly in full command, but Junindra refused to fold and clawed his way back to 7-7. The tie was suddenly on a knife-edge.
This time, Manav did not blink. He tightened his game, held his nerve and closed it out 11-8 to seal a 3-2 victory and put India 1-0 up in the tie.
If Manav’s win was about surviving the swings, Manush Shah’s contest with Affan Pratama was about ripping momentum away at exactly the right time.
In the opening game of the third match of the tie, Manush trailed 3-6 and looked under pressure. Then the switch flipped. He reeled in Pratama, turned the game around, and snatched it 11-9.
The second game followed the same jagged pattern, only more extreme. Pratama bolted to a 6-1 lead and later stood two points from levelling the match at 9-7. Manush responded with a ruthless burst, rattling off four points in a row to steal it 11-9 and move 2-0 ahead.
Those late surges didn’t just win games; they broke resistance. With India already 2-0 up overall against Indonesia, his composure under fire pushed the team to the brink of wrapping up the Group F encounter.
Different sports, different pressures, the same thread running through the day: when the decisive moments arrived, India hit hard.
