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The Indian men's hockey team held Argentina to a 1-1 draw in their second group encounter of the Paris 2024 Olympics on Monday, July 29, thanks to a Harmanpreet Singh goal at the death. The Indians, who began aggressively, were pegged back by a goal from open play by Lucas Martinez in the second quarter after Abhishek's tomahawk struck the crossbar in the first quarter.
The Argentinians, who had a golden chance to double the lead after earning a penalty stroke in the third quarter, failed to make the most of the opportunity as a result of which the two teams spilt points in the crucial pool game in Paris.
Craig Fulton's team had the better of the early exchanges, with Abhishek coming up with a stunning reverse while falling over that hit the post in the 10th minute of play.
Harmanpreet Singh was denied by some outstanding goalkeeping from Tomas Santiago in the second quarter who continued to frustrate the Indians throughout the contest.
Lucas Martinez scored in the 22nd minute, even as Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh took a tumble, to give his team a vital 1-0 lead. The Argentinians indulged in clever possession play as they stitched together midfield passes while denying the Indians a chance to advance.
Lalit Upadhyay's full-length dive at the goalmouth failed to yield results midway through the third quarter before the Argentinians earned a penalty stroke that followed a short corner award.
Maico Casella was unable to find the target from the spot in the 37th minute which gave the Indians a lifeline in their second men's hockey pool game.
Sustained pressure from the Indians paid off at the death as Harmanpreet Singh finally beat Tomas Santiago with a well-directed drag-flick in the 59th minute after being run down several times in a row.
India take on Ireland in 3rd men's hockey pool game, with mighty Belgium and Australia lying in wait
The Indians take on Ireland in their third pool match of the men's hockey competition at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday (July 30).
The Indians have four points from two games and will be looking for a win against Ireland before taking on the might of Belgium and Australia, who have six points each after a couple of wins.
The Irish lost to Belgium 0-2 before playing a fast and furious encounter against mighty Australia en route to a narrow 1-2 defeat.
Despite the back-to-back losses, the Irish are a team that can never be written off going by the manner in which they stretched the Kookaburras on the hockey pitch in Paris.
As the Indians advance through their own pool, the think-tank will no doubt be keeping a close watch on the opposite group, where the Netherlands are on top of the points table, having beaten South Africa 5-3 and France 4-0.
The Germans crashed to a 0-2 defeat against Spain after a thumping 8-2 win over hosts France while Great Britain thrashed Spain 4-0 before settling for a 2-2 draw with South Africa at Paris 2024.
