India beat Singapore 7-0 in Kakamigahara to top Pool B and set up South Korea semi

India's women's hockey team beat Singapore 7-0 in Kakamigahara on Sunday at the Asian Games 2026. The win was India's fifth consecutive victory in the tournament and secured top spot in Pool B, setting up a semi-final against South Korea.

The Gifu region was overcast and rainy for a second successive day, but the conditions did not prevent India from producing a comfortable victory. Sunelita Toppo’s two goals led India’s tally against Singapore, with other strikes coming from captain Salima Tete, Lalremsiami, Rutuja Dadaso Pisal, Nikki Pradhan and Deepika. India completed the pool stage with a goal difference of +63 after wins over Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and Singapore, their most competitive pool match being a 3-1 victory over hosts Japan. South Korea secured second place in Pool A by defeating Malaysia 2-1 earlier in the day, while China and Japan will meet in the other semi-final.

India dominated possession from the start and won the first of their 27 penalty corners in the opening minute when Lalremsiami found the foot of a Singapore defender; Deepika’s drag-flick was deflected away. A second-minute penalty corner followed after a successful video referral, but Singapore's defence remained compact and goalkeeper Felissa Lai produced a series of saves to keep India at bay.

India continued to probe and combined well in the eighth minute when Ishika linked with captain Salima, but a timely interception denied the skipper. More than five penalty corners in the opening quarter went unrewarded as Singapore repeatedly frustrated the Indian attack before the breakthrough arrived early in the second quarter.

Two minutes into the second quarter, Navneet’s first-time attempt was saved and the rebound fell to Salima, who found a gap to score in the 17th minute. India doubled their lead in the 22nd minute following a penalty-corner scramble, with Sunelita applying the finish from close range.

Sunelita struck again a couple of minutes later, deflecting Deepika’s penalty-corner flick after a sharp near-post run. Deepika then made it 4-0 in the 26th minute when her flick took a deflection off Lalremsiami’s stick, and three minutes later Rutuja calmly lifted the ball past the goalkeeper to make it 5-0; India had scored five times in the second quarter after a goalless opening quarter.

India added a sixth in the 35th minute after Singapore failed to clear back-to-back penalty corners, with Baljeet recovering the ball and the subsequent goalmouth scramble ending with Nikki Pradhan pushing the ball over the line. Singapore remained compact in the third quarter; Lalremsiami came close in the 40th and 42nd minutes but the goalkeeper saved both attempts, and a succession of late third-quarter penalty corners were not converted.

The Singapore defence held for the first 10 minutes of the final quarter and Deepika had an aerial effort expertly palmed away, but India found their seventh goal in the 55th minute when Deepika converted a penalty corner with a precise flick. She had another opportunity a minute later but did not add to her tally. Singapore then produced their best chance when Qian Xiao Kwek went one-on-one with India’s goalkeeper Bichu Devi and missed; India completed the match past the 60-minute mark with a 7-0 victory.

India will face South Korea in the semi-final on September 30; South Korea finished second in Pool A after beating Malaysia 2-1 earlier in the day, and the other semi-final will see China play Japan.