Asian Games 2018: Sardar Singh unhappy despite India thrashing Indonesia 17-0

Sardar Singh (centre) vies with Indonesian players in Jakarta. Pic/AFP

Defending champions India began their hockey campaign at the Asian Games here with a thumping 17-0 win against hapless Indonesia at the GBK Sports Complex here, but despite the massive victory margin, midfield maestro Sardar Singh was a tad disappointed. "Our coach [Harendra Singh] just informed us that Pakistan's highest at the Asian Games is 17 goals [they beat Bangladesh 17-0 in 1978].

'Wanted to go above Pak'
"Had we scored just one more goal, we would have broken Pakistan's record, so I just feel a little bad," Sardar told mid-day moments after the win here last evening.

Singhs on song
Dilpreet Singh, Simranjit Singh and Mandeep Singh led the scoring charts yesterday with three goals each, while Rupinder Pal Singh scored a brace. Amit Rohidas, Lalit Upadhyay, Harmanpreet Singh, Vivek Prasad, SV Sunil and Akashdeep Singh netted a goal each to complete the rout.

India take on another lowly ranked side Hong Kong in a couple of days. Interestingly, arch-rivals Pakistan scored a record 42 goals at the 1990 Asian Games. Going by yesterday's tally, India can probably try to break this record en route to their gold medal aim.

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