India, Sept. 23 -- With each goal India scored, the celebrations remained rather muted, both on and off the pitch. Except for that one goal late in the 57th minute.

The Indian women's hockey team has been growing in confidence since June. They won the Nations Cup to earn promotion to the top-flight FIH Pro League, then they finished an impressive fifth at the World Cup last month.

Their campaign at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya started with comprehensive wins over minnows Uzbekistan (19-0) and Indonesia (13-1). On Wednesday, at the Gifu Prefectorial Green Stadium, another goalfest was expected of them. And they delivered, beating Thailand 20-1.

India knows though, that these results are coming against teams well below their standard,...