The Indian women's hockey team registered their second consecutive victory in the 18th Asian Games as they hammered Kazakhstan 21-0 in their Pool B match here on Tuesday.
The World No. 9 India showed their quality with their dominant performance against a lowly ranked Kazakh side, scoring 21 goals in the team's second biggest victory of the Asian Games.
The Indian team started the first quarter on the front-foot as they won three Penalty Corners inside the first six minutes. Drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur managed to convert on the third attempt as she hit a fierce shot towards the Goalkeeper's left to score India's first goal in the 7th minute.
India scored their second goal in the 9th minute when Lilima Minz struck the ball from the edge of the striking circle, finding young striker Lalremsiami, who did not hesitate in deflecting the ball into the goal.
The 10th minute saw Neha Goyal make a great run on the right baseline, wriggle past Kazakh defenders and push the ball into the back of the net with a sly finish to make it 3-0.
In the 11th minute, Vandana Katariya made a darting run on the right flank, and passed the ball inside to Navneet Kaur, who scored with a fine finish.
The next minute saw the duo combine again, but this time Katariya made the pass from the left flank, and Navneet Kaur was present in front of the far-post to extend the lead to five goals.
The Indian team maintained their aggression in the second quarter as they scored their sixth goal within 18 seconds of the restart.
It was striker Navjot Kaur who put the ball into the back of the net after Navneet Kaur's shot was palmed away by the Kazakhstan goalkeeper Guzal Bakhavaddin.
India got a penalty corner in the 19th minute and the resulting execution saw Lalremsiami get her second goal of the match as she got the final touch after the Kazakh Goalkeeper had made a double save.
India struggled to be efficient with their chances but scored their eighth goal in the 29th minute as Vandana Katariya, with her back towards the goal and the Goalkeeper charging down, made a great turn and fired her shot into the back of the net.
The next minute saw India produce a great team play as Lalremsiami completed her hat-trick after the forward line stitched together some good passes, and eventually Navjot Kaur found the young striker in front of the goal, which meant India took a 9-goal lead into the half-time break.
India started the third period with some more attacking play, finding their tenth goal of the match in the 34th minute as Vandana Katariya's shot from the left flank was deflected into the back of the net by Udita.
The 36th minute saw Deep Grace Ekka's drag-flick being stopped on the line by a Kazakh defender, forcing the umpire to give India a Penalty Stroke, which was well taken by Gurjit Kaur to make it 11-0 in India's favour.
The World No. 9 team continued to dominate the match as they scored their 12th goal in the 37th minute as Lilima Minz's long grounded pass to Vandana Katariya in front of goal, was met with a deft deflection by the latter.
Lilima Minz was involved again in the next minute as she finished off a move which saw Navneet Kaur's shot deflect off the goal-post.
In the 43rd minute, it was Deep Grace Ekka who also got onto the score-sheet as she converted a Penalty Corner, hitting a menacing shot towards the left of the Kazakh goalkeeper to make it 14-0. India earned themselves another penalty corner in the 44th minute, and this time it was Gurjit Kaur who hit an unstoppable shot towards the roof of the net, to score her team's 15th goal.
The Indian team did not stop attacking their World No. 34 opponents as they scored their 16th goal in the last minute of the quarter as Lilima Minz put Monika's pass past the Kazakh defender.
India scored their 17th goal of the match in the 49th minute as Navneet Kaur converted Navjot Kaur's pass from the left flank, to get her third goal of the match.
The 52nd minute saw Gurjit Kaur scored India's 18th goal as she converted another PC, striking the ball in the top left corner.
Vandana Katariya scored her third goal of the match in the 53rd minute as she was on the end of a brilliant team move. India continued to score more goals as Navjot Kaur scored her second goal of the match in the 54th minute, while Monika also got onto the scoresheet in the 55th minute as she scored a great solo goal from the right flank, making a run from outside the circle and getting her shot away to beat the Kazakh Goalkeeper, scoring India's 21st goal.
India will play their third Pool B match against South Korea on Saturday.
--IANS
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