Thailand beats Kuwait 57-0 in one of the most lopsided international hockey games ever
That’s certainly one way to start a hockey tournament.
The opening game of the U-18 Asian and Oceania Championship saw Thailand beat Kuwait 57-0 on Tuesday, marking one of the biggest blowouts in IIHF history.
The tournament is taking place in Uzbekistan, with nine teams – Thailand, Kuwait, India, Indonesia, Iran, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia and the United Arab Emirates – making up the two groups. Tuesday’s game marked Kuwait’s first at the U-18 level – and it’s safe to say it’s hard to have a more difficult opener.
We can add this game to the list. pic.twitter.com/BAG0sN1fke
— Hockey Worldwide (@H0ckeyWorldwide) April 23, 2024Thailand outshot Kuwait 122-1, with Adeeb Alhalawa registering the lone chance on net for Kuwait. Kingston Zi-Jun Pan made the save on the breakaway chance. Six players had double-digit outputs for Thailand, with Natapat Patong leading the way with seven goals and 13 points. He found himself in a three-way tie for the goal lead, sharing it with Natchayatorn Yannakornthanapunt and Thananutch Khultanthorn.
Thailand has won bronze at the past two Division IIIB U-18 World Championship tournaments.
It was at this same level that Thailand gave up 92 goals to South Korea in 1998 in the most lopsided international hockey game of all time. They also allowed 52 goals to Kazakhstan back at the 2007 Asian Winter Games.
If it helps to lessen the blow for Kuwait, Iran (19-0 loss to Uzbekistan) and India (32-0 defeat at the hands of Mongolia) were also victims of high-powered offense on the opening day. Kuwait will look to bounce back against Malaysia on Wednesday in their first outing of the tournament.
Uzbekistan won this tournament last year, going perfect with a 5-0-0-0 record after beating Turkmenistan for gold in just the first time the nation had played in an IIHF event. It also marked the tournament’s return for the first time since 2012.
The round-robin will run until April 28, with placement and playoff games starting the next day. The championship game will take place April 30.