India, Sept. 24 -- In-form striker Dilpreet Singh scored a hat-trick as defending champions India thrashed Korea 8-2 to register their third straight win and virtually seal a place in the men's hockey semifinals at the Asian Games here on Thursday.

Dilpreet struck three field goals in the 10th, 26th and 32nd minutes, while Abhishek scored twice as India maintained their position at the top of Pool A.

Shilanand Lakra, skipper Harmanpreet Singh and Rajinder Singh were India's other scorers. Korea's goals came from Kim Jae Ho and Kim Yong Bok.

India had earlier opened their campaign with emphatic wins over Indonesia (13-1) and Sri Lanka (16-1).

The Indians began aggressively and needed just four minutes to break the deadlock. Shilanand t...