8 Teams faced-off in a 29 goal inaugural thriller at the first day of the 18th Asian Games Jakarta

Match 01 - Kazakhstan 3 - 1 Thailand

Kazakhstan registered a 3-1 win over Thailand in a Group B match at the women’s hockey event of the Asian Games at the GBK hockey stadium.

The Thai team dominated play in the first quarter and had six penalty corners. But couldn't make the most out thier chances. In the second quarter, Kazakhstan took the lead against the run of play. They earned their first penalty corner in the 20th minute and it was duly converted by Vera Domashnera. The Thais, SEA Games silver medalist, missed numerous chances in the first half.

Two minutes into the third quarter and Thailand fell further behind. Kazakhstan skipper Natalya Gataulina had her first direct flick from their second penalty corners saved by the Thai goalkeeper Siraya Yimkrajang. But Gataulina managed to slot home the rebound for the team’s second goal in the 32nd minute. Kazakhstan maintained their play and increased their lead in the 49th minute to 3-0. They again scored from the penalty corner and this time it was Natalya Sazontova who was on target.

Thailand coach Bae Young-Wook said that match was played under humid conditions and affected the players a little. “The conditions were hot as the game was played at 2.00pm. But we had plenty of chances to get the goals, however, our players missed some easy sitters. “We hope to improve in the coming matches,” he said. Thailand scored a consolation goal in the 56th minute through Natthakarn Aunjai off a field attempt.

Match 02 - Japan 11 - 0 Chinese Taipei

Japan started their women’s hockey campaign in earnest when the routed Chinese Taipei 11-0 in their opening Group A match at the GBK Hockey Stadium.

It was a classic performance by the Japanese as they had full control of the match,

Japan’s head coach Anthony Farry said that there are still some areas of concern in their defensive play. “It is always good to start with a win, but we need to improve in some areas. There was too much room in the defense and they caused some problems for us. We will improve as we go along”, he said.

Japan, ranked 14th in the world, had little trouble against the Chinese Taipei side which is in 53rd place in the FIH ranking.

It took the Japanese just two minutes to open the scoring with Hazuki Nagai making good their first penalty corner. Nagai went on to score two more goals in the 4th and 17th minutes from a penalty corner and field attempt. The onslaught continued with Motomi Kawamura scoring the third goal in the eighth minute and again in the 19th minute from field attempts.

The other first-half goal was scored by Yukari Mano in the 12th minute off a field attempt.

Japan started the third quarter with another early goal as Emi Nishikori scored with a direct flick from the penalty corner.

Nagai went on to score two more goals in the 42nd and 53rd minutes.

Motomi was also in the scoring act with two goals in the 51st and 52 minutes.

Nagai had five goals in the match while Motomi scored four.

Match 03 - Malaysia 8 - 0 Hong Kong China

Malaysia defeated Hong Kong 8-0 in the Women’s Pool A Hockey competition at the GBK Hockey Stadium.

It was a comprehensive win for the Malaysians to register the three points. In the last two meetings, Malaysia defeated Hong Kong 9-0 and 10-0 respectively.

It was the same result for the Malaysians this time around, however, credit to Hong Kong for defending well to deny their opponents the goal feast they could have registered, allowing Malaysia to score only once out of their 7 penalty corners.

“I am not too concerned about getting the goals as it was the three points that matter,” said Malaysian coach K. Dharmaraj. He added, “As for the penalty corners, two resulted in penalty strokes and we scored from one, so in terms of conversion rate it was not too bad”

Malaysia forced their first penalty corner but couldn’t make the most out of the opportunity. Their persistence, however, paid off with Nuraini Rashid converting a penalty stroke in the 13th minute. Malaysia doubled their advantage through a field goal via Nur Amirah Shafikah Zulkifli in the 16th minute. Two minutes after halftime Hanis Nadia Onn made it 3-0 for Malaysia. And the fourth goal was duly delivered by Nur Amirah in the 34th minute.

Nuraini converted another penalty strike a minute before the end of the second quarter to make it 5-0. Ace striker Fazila Sylvester Silin got into the scoring act, betting the sixth goal in the 50th minute. Nor Azlin Sumantri made it 8-0 in the 58th minute.

Match 04 - India 8 - 0 Indonesia

India put eight goals past Indonesia in their group A opener at the GBK Hockey Stadium.

It was a spectacular match as India are a world-class team while Indonesia were playing in front of their home crowd. The hosts were not overwhelmed by the occasion and showed that they were capable of playing good Hockey.

The fact that they prevented India from scoring in the third quarter showed that they were improving as the match progressed.

“We did not play up to expectation but managed to get the goals and the win. There are various areas we need to work on but overall we were not at our best,” said Indian coach Sjoerd Marijne.

India opened the scoring in the 7th minute through Udita. And the second goal arrived in the 13th minute via Vandana Katariya, one of the three Top goal scorers in Donghae Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2018, earlier this year, alongside Navneet Kaur, who also got her name into the scoreboard with a brace in the 17^th minute and then in the 50^th minute, bagging India’s 5^th and 7^th goals. Gurjit Kaur scored from two penalty corners in the 16th and the 22nd minutes to make it 3-0 and 4-0, respectively. Vandana got her second and India’s sixth in the 27th minute. Gurjit completed her hat trick late in the game to make it 8 for the Asian number 1 side.