Well, that’s one way to get a hockey tournament started.
In one of the largest blowouts in IIHF history, Thailand defeated Kuwait 57-0 in the opening game of the U-18 Asian and Oceania Championship on Tuesday.
Nine teams from two groups—Thailand, Kuwait, India, Indonesia, Iran, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, and the United Arab Emirates—are competing in the tournament, which is being held in Uzbekistan. Kuwait played its inaugural U-18 match on Tuesday, and it’s safe to say that openers don’t come much tougher than this one.
We can add this game to the list. pic.twitter.com/BAG0sN1fke
— Hockey Worldwide (@H0ckeyWorldwide) April 23, 2024
Thailand outshot Kuwait 122-1, with Adeeb Alhalawa registering Kuwait’s lone shot on net.
Zi-Jun Pan of Kingston made the save to preserve the shutout. For Thailand, six players scored ten goals or more, with Natapat Patong topping the list with seven goals and thirteen points. Along with Thananutch Khultanthorn and Natchayatorn Yannakornthanapunt, he was in a three-way tie for the lead in goals.
Thailand has won bronze at the past two Division IIIB U-18 World Championship tournaments.
At this same level, Thailand lost the most lopsided international hockey game of all time to South Korea in 1998, giving up 92 goals. Additionally, they let up 52 goals against Kazakhstan during the Asian Winter Games in 2007.
If it eases Kuwait’s pain a little, Iran (19-0 loss to Uzbekistan) and India (32-0 loss to Mongolia) also suffered from strong offensive performances on the first day. In their opening match of the competition on Wednesday, Kuwait will try to recover against Malaysia.
The round-robin competition will conclude on April 28. The following day, placement and playoff games will begin. On April 30, there will be a championship game.
