India's in-form drag-flicker Deepika Sehrawat continued her impressive run at the Asian Games, scoring a record nine goals in a single match as India thrashed Thailand 20-1 in their women's hockey Pool B clash on Wednesday.
The victory was India's third consecutive win in the competition, with the team producing another dominant performance after big wins over Uzbekistan and Indonesia.
Deepika scored in the 2nd, 8th, 9th, 24th, 33rd, 36th, 39th, 51st and 57th minutes. She was particularly effective from penalty corners, converting all nine of her attempts to register a record goal haul.
Deepika had entered the match with 11 goals in the tournament, having scored eight against Uzbekistan and three against Indonesia. Her nine-goal haul against Thailand took her tally to 20 goals in the competition.
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Navneet Kaur also had a memorable outing, scoring four goals in the 4th, 29th, 35th and 51st minutes.
Rutuja Dadaso Pisal completed her hat-trick with goals in the 10th, 11th and 47th minutes, while Neha Goyal (19th), Lalremsiami (26th), Sakshi Rana (29th) and skipper Salima Tete (45th) also found the net.
Thailand's only goal came through Supansa Samanso in the 57th minute, when she converted a penalty-corner variation.
India went into half-time with an 11-0 lead after Deepika opened the scoring before Navneet doubled the advantage. Rutuja then struck twice in quick succession, with Neha Goyal, Lalremsiami and Navneet adding to Thailand's woes.
After the change of ends, India continued to control proceedings. Rutuja completed her hat-trick, while Sakshi and captain Salima also got on the scoresheet with field goals.
The Indian team, which finished a historic fifth at the recently concluded FIH World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium, has carried that momentum into the Asian Games.
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India had earlier defeated Uzbekistan 19-0 and Indonesia 17-1.
The Salima Tete-led side currently sits at the top of Pool B with three wins from as many matches, ahead of Japan. The top teams from each pool will qualify for the semifinals of the 12-team competition.
India will next face hosts Japan on Friday.
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