India’s men’s hockey team extended their stellar run at the Asian Games 2026 by routing South Korea 8-2 in a Pool A fixture held at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium in Aichi-Nagoya on Thursday, securing their third straight win to retain the top position in Pool A after opening their campaign with resounding 13-1 and 16-1 victories over Indonesia and Sri Lanka respectively, with India seizing control right from the start by scoring in the fourth minute, doubling the lead through Dilpreet Singh, extending it to 3-0 via captain Harmanpreet Singh’s penalty corner conversion, and capping off the first quarter at 4-0 thanks to Abhishek Nain’s 14th-minute goal, after which India effectively managed possession and tempo in the second quarter to frustrate South Korea’s attempts to slow the game down, adding a fifth goal through Dilpreet Singh courtesy of a Mandeep Singh setup to enjoy a comfortable 5-0 lead at the break, and continuing their aggressive push after halftime where Dilpreet sealed his hat-trick early in the third quarter to make it 6-0, and despite several unconverted penalty corners and missed opportunities by both sides, Abhishek Nain brought India’s tally to seven before South Korea’s Kim Jaeho managed to put his team on the board late in the third quarter at 1-7, setting up a final quarter where South Korean pressure and penalty corners were expertly neutralized by Indian goalkeeper Mohit Shashikumar, and although South Korea managed a second goal through Park to narrow the gap to 2-7, India comfortably closed out the match by converting a penalty corner with just 30 seconds remaining to finalize an 8-2 scoreline, keeping them unbeaten at the head of Pool A ahead of their upcoming matches against Japan and Bangladesh in the Asian Games 2026.
India Thrash South Korea 8-2 at Asian Games 2026 to Solidify Position at the Top of Pool A Men’s Hockey
