India’s Women Achieve Historic 19–0 Victory Over Uzbekistan

India’s women opened their campaign with a statement so loud it will echo well beyond the tournament: a 19–0 dismantling of Uzbekistan in their first-ever meeting.

They missed their own benchmark of 22–0 by three goals. Nobody in blue will care.

Deepika Sehrawat delivered the kind of individual performance that bends record books. The forward finished with eight goals, the most ever scored by a woman in a single international hockey match, turning a routine group outing into a historic afternoon.

From the first whistle, India pressed high and hard. Uzbekistan barely had time to settle on the ball before wave after wave of attacks crashed into their circle. The Indian midfield dictated tempo, the forwards rotated relentlessly, and the scoreline began to run away almost as quickly as the contest.

The goals came from every angle: penalty corners drilled in, rebounds snapped up, open-play moves sliced through a tiring defence. Yet it was Deepika who kept finding the finishing touch, timing her runs, reading every loose ball, and punishing every hesitation.

By half-time, the only question left was how big the margin would be.

Sjoerd Marijne could afford the luxury of rolling his bench, spreading minutes, and still the intensity barely dipped. India kept the structure, kept the hunger, and refused to drift into exhibition mode. The scoreboard ticked on, the gap grew, and Uzbekistan were left chasing shadows.

When the hooter finally sounded at 19–0, India had fallen just short of their own record but set a new individual landmark and laid down a marker for the rest of the field.

For Marijne and his squad, this was more than an opening win. It was a clear warning: India have arrived, and they intend to stay on the front foot.