Jakarta: The Indian men's hockey team set a new record as they thrashed a hapless Hong Kong 26-0 in a Pool A match of the Asian Games here on Wednesday.
It bettered the previous best of 17-0 - jointly held by India and Pakistan. Pakistan had outplayed Bangladesh 17-0 in the 1978 edition at Bangkok, while India had drawn level by routing Indonesia by the same margin in their opening match here on Monday.
The victory was also India's best-ever, bettering the 24-1 win over the US in the 1932 Olympics.
The Indians scored 17 goals from open play, while converting 9 out of the 21 penalty corners which came their way. The team led by goalkeeper P R Sreejesh had a whopping 39 shots on goal. Hong Kong did not get a single shot on target and also failed to win a penalty corner.
Four Indian players scored a hat-trick - Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay struck four apiece, while Akashdeep Singh netted thrice.
