The Asian Games 2026 men’s hockey tournament saw India maintain their exceptional form by crushing South Korea 8-2 in their Pool A match at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium in Aichi-Nagoya on Thursday, marking their third consecutive triumph to hold firm at the top of Pool A following dominant earlier wins against Indonesia (13-1) and Sri Lanka (16-1), as India asserted dominance early on by opening the scoring in the fourth minute, getting a second goal from Dilpreet Singh, and capitalizing on a penalty corner through captain Harmanpreet Singh before Abhishek Nain’s 14th-minute goal established a commanding 4-0 lead by the end of the first quarter, which was followed by controlled possession and tempo in the second quarter where Dilpreet Singh scored his second and India’s fifth goal from a setup by Mandeep Singh to lead 5-0 at half-time, and after the restart, Dilpreet quickly struck again in the third quarter to complete his hat-trick and make it 6-0, and although subsequent penalty corners went unconverted for both teams, Abhishek Nain added a seventh goal for India, before South Korea responded late in the third quarter with a goal from Kim Jaeho to make it 1-7, leading into a final quarter where South Korea’s attacking efforts and penalty corners were repeatedly thwarted by resilient Indian goalkeeper Mohit Shashikumar, though South Korea eventually secured a second goal through Park to make it 2-7, but India ensured a strong finish by converting a final penalty corner with only 30 seconds left on the clock to seal a comprehensive 8-2 victory, keeping them undefeated at the pinnacle of Pool A as they look forward to their remaining fixtures against Japan and Bangladesh in the Asian Games 2026.
India Roars Past South Korea 8-2 to Stay Firmly Atop Pool A in Men’s Hockey at the 2026 Asian Games
