In the men’s field hockey Pool A opening game at the Asian Games 2022, India completely destroyed Uzbekistan with a 16-0 win, including three hat-tricks.
Asian Games 2023: Men's Field Hockey - India 16 - Uzbekistan 0; Varun Kumar, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay and Mandeep Singh scored hat-tricks
Varun Kumar scored four goals (12’, 36’, 50’, 52’), Lalit Kumar Upadhyay (7’, 24’ 53’), and Mandeep Singh (18’, 27’, 28’) both scored three goals each. Also, Sukhjeet Singh (37’, 42’) had a brace while Abhishek (17’), Amit Rohidas (38’), Shamsher Singh (43’), and Sanjay (57’) netted once each.
Varun Kumar’s second goal came from a penalty stroke while India also scored five goals from the penalty corners.
Meanwhile, Japan thrashed Bangladesh by 7-2 in another Pool A game. Among the six Japanese scorers, Shota Yamada scored a brace.
Also, Pakistan thrashed Singapore by 11-0, majorly thanks to twin hat-tricks, Arbaz Ahmad and Arshad Liaqat.
On the other hand, Pool B started with a massive 9-0 victory for Malaysia against Thailand. Abu Kamal Azrai, Aiman Rozemi, and Aminudin Muhammad all these three players scored twice for Malaysia.
In the second Pool B game, South Korea thrashed Indonesia by 10-0, where Jang Jong-hyun scored four goals (23’, 35’, 47’, 57’). Meanwhile, the hosts China secured a close 3-2 win against Oman.
Asian Games 2023: Men’s Field Hockey (Preliminary Round) Day 1 Match Results
(Pool A)
India 16 – Uzbekistan 0
Japan 7 – Bangladesh 2
Pakistan 11 – Singapore 0
(Pool B)
Malaysia 9 – Thailand 0
South Korea 10 – Indonesia 0
China 3 – Oman 2
Asian Games 2023: Men’s Field Hockey Points Tables (Preliminary Round)
Pool A
Team | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal For | Goal Against | Goal Difference | Points |
India | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | +16 | 3 |
Pakistan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | +11 | 3 |
Japan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 3 |
Bangladesh | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | -5 | 0 |
Singapore | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | -11 | 0 |
Uzbekistan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | -16 | 0 |
Pool B
Team | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal For | Goal Against | Goal Difference | Points |
South Korea | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 | 3 |
Malaysia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | +9 | 3 |
China (Hosts) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 |
Oman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 0 |
Thailand | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | -9 | 0 |
Indonesia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | -10 | 0 |