India’s Women Dominate in Opening Matches: Hockey, Shooting, and Table Tennis
India’s campaign burst into life across three venues, three sports and with three very different kinds of domination.
Hockey: Deepika’s record-breaking eight as India run riot
Nineteen goals. No reply. A statement that echoed far beyond a first-ever meeting with Uzbekistan.
India’s women were ruthless in their opening hockey clash, dismantling Uzbekistan 19–0 and coming agonisingly close to matching their famous 22–0 record win. The scoreline told one story. Deepika Sehrawat told another.
The forward produced an extraordinary personal performance, racking up eight goals – the most ever scored by a woman in a single international hockey match. Every attack seemed to end with Deepika lurking in the right pocket of space, her finishing as cold as India’s pressing was relentless.
By the final whistle, the contest had long since turned into a training-ground drill played at full international tempo. For coach Sjoerd Marijne and his staff, it was the kind of opening salvo that sets a tone: intent, fitness, and a refusal to ease off even with the points secured.
India did not get their 22. They got something else instead – a record-breaking individual display and a 19–0 marker laid down for the rest of the tournament.
Shooting: Women’s rifle team fire India to silver, two into the final
While the hockey goals flowed, the precision came from 10 metres out on the rifle range.
The Indian women’s 10m air rifle team of Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod pieced together a composed, consistent qualification series to claim the silver medal with a combined total of 1898. China edged gold with 1904.2, Japan took bronze on 1897.1, but India were firmly in the thick of the battle all session.
Within that team performance, two shooters carved out a second opportunity. Sonam posted 634.1 and Elavenil 633.5 to book their places in the individual final. Vidarsa’s 630.4 left her just outside the cut in 12th, a narrow miss on a day when the margins were brutally fine.
The individual final, scheduled for 11:00 AM IST, now offers Sonam and Elavenil a shot at turning team silver into something even shinier.
Table Tennis: Manav and Manush drag India clear of Indonesia
On the table tennis court, the drama had a different rhythm. No blowouts. No procession. Just the tight, nervy exchanges of a team tie that swung point by point.
India’s men faced Indonesia in Group F, and by the time the second singles rubber reached its decider, the tie felt balanced on a knife-edge. Manav Thakkar, ranked World No. 48, had already been dragged into deep waters by Muhammad Junindra.
Manav took the opener 11–7, then watched Junindra hit back 11–8. The Indian steadied in the third, briefly trailing 4–5 before ripping through to 11–6 with a burst of controlled aggression and cleaner first-ball attacks. Junindra refused to fold, building a three-point cushion early in the fourth and never letting it go, forcing the decider with an 11–6 reply of his own.
The fifth game became a test of nerve. Manav surged to 5–1, only for Junindra to claw his way back, point by point, to 7–7. The pressure tightened. This time, Manav did not blink. He strung together the key rallies, closed out the game 11–8 and the match 3–2, and dragged India into a 2–0 lead in the team contest.
If Manav’s win was a grind, Manush Shah’s performance in the third match against Affan Pratama was a study in resilience.
He trailed 3–6 in the opening game, under early fire, but turned the frame on its head to steal it 11–9. The second game looked even more dangerous: Pratama raced to 6–1, then stood two points from levelling at 9–7. Manush ripped that script up, reeling off four points in a row to snatch another 11–9 and move 2–0 up.
Each surge, each comeback, pushed India closer to wrapping up the tie and tightening their grip on Group F.
From a record-breaking eight-goal haul on the turf, to a silver on the rifle range, to knife-edge five-setters on the table, India’s opening acts carried a clear message: this delegation has arrived not just to compete, but to dictate the tempo of the Games.
