MUSCAT: Oman faced a challenging second day at the Men’s and Women’s Asian Hockey5s 2026, while India and Iran produced standout performances in another action-packed round at Hockey Oman on Tuesday.
The nine matches delivered a thrilling display of attacking hockey, with a total of 79 goals scored across both competitions — 37 in the men’s category and 42 in the women’s event.
The championship, being held in Muscat from July 20 to 25, serves as the Asian qualification tournament for the FIH Hockey5s Under-18 World Cup.
Oman’s men began their second-day programme with a 14-0 defeat against India in the Men’s Elite category. India controlled the encounter and produced a clinical attacking performance to register the biggest victory in the men’s competition during the day.
The hosts returned later to face Bangladesh and produced a much-improved display, but narrowly lost 4-3 in a closely contested match.
Oman remained competitive throughout the encounter and scored three times, but Bangladesh held on to secure their first victory of the championship after two defeats on the opening day. The result left Oman still searching for their first points after losing 5-0 to Pakistan in their opening match.
India emerged as the leading side in the Men’s Elite category after recording two victories on Tuesday. Following their 14-0 win over Oman, India defeated Pakistan 7-4 in an entertaining match that produced 11 goals.
The two victories saw India score 21 goals during the day and confirmed their strong early challenge in the competition. Pakistan, who had opened the championship with victories over Oman and Bangladesh, suffered their first defeat despite scoring four times against India.
In the Men’s Challenger category, Iraq bounced back from their opening defeat against Iran by overcoming Saudi Arabia 4-1. Iraq collected their first victory of the championship, while Saudi Arabia suffered a second successive loss after their 9-0 defeat against Iran on the opening day.
Oman’s women suffered an 11-0 defeat against Iran in the Women’s Challenger category. Iran produced a dominant performance to record their first victory of the day before returning to defeat Pakistan 4-1.
The two results saw Iran score 15 goals while conceding only once, strengthening their position in the Challenger competition. Oman had begun their campaign with a 6-0 defeat against Pakistan and will aim to respond positively in their remaining fixtures.
India recorded the biggest victory of the day after defeating Uzbekistan 16-0 in the Women’s Elite category. Where earlier, India and China shared the points following a 2-2 draw in one of the most closely contested matches of the round. China later returned to winning ways with a 5-1 victory over Kazakhstan, completing an unbeaten day with one win and one draw. Kazakhstan were unable to build on their opening-day victory against Uzbekistan, while the Uzbek side suffered two heavy defeats after losing 12-0 to China on Monday.
Competition continues in Muscat as the participating teams battle for the continental titles and qualification places at the FIH Hockey5s Under-18 World Cup.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
