The Indian men’s hockey team made a positive start to their tour of Argentina by defeating the reigning Olympic champions of the 4-3 reign in the first practice match. Neelkant Sharma (16th minute), Harmanpreet Singh (28th), Rupinder Pal Singh (33rd) and Varun Kumar (47th) were the goalscorers for India late on Tuesday. Dragflicker Leandro Tolini (35th, 53rd) and Maco Cassella (41st) scored for the home team. India coach Graham Reid said, “It was a very good practice match, intensely contested by both teams. It is always good to win against a team like Olympic Champions Argentina because it increases our confidence level.”
Both teams were slow to get out of the blocks in the first quarter, but it was India that gained momentum in the second quarter.
Shilanand Lakra was the creator of India’s first goal as his impeccable assist found Neelkanth inside the circle and the striker put the ball in the hands of the Argentine goalkeeper.
Subsequently, India pushed the host team to the backfoot with frequent attacks.
Argentina soon responded to India’s aggressive performance by securing a penalty corner but experienced mentor PR Sreejesh made a superb save to keep the hosts at bay.
After this Dilpreet Singh gave India a penalty corner in the 28th minute and Harmanpreet made no mistake in giving her team a 2–0 lead with a powerful strike.
Argentina bounced back strongly in the third quarter as they scored in the 32nd minute through Tolini, who was on the spot, scoring on a penalty corner.
But India were quick to respond as they won a set piece through Jaskaran Singh in the 33rd minute and this time the experienced Rupinder banged on target to give the tourists a 3–1 lead.
However Argentina again reduced the margin with another goal in the 42nd minute.
Shortly afterwards Argentina secured another penalty corner but India’s young goalkeeper Krishna Bahadur Pathak came in his favor.
India fought a resolute battle to maintain their lead in the final quarter. In the 47th minute, Dilpreet secured another penalty corner for India and this time Varun returned to the team after recovering from a hamstring injury and crashed the ball into the Argentine net.
Although Argentina pulled another back through Tolini in the 53rd minute, the visiting team had a spirited defense to end the game in their favor.
“We were able to create opportunities in the circle and also convert them. It was one of the areas that really kept our minds in the national camp,” Reid said.
He said, “But we allowed Argentina to come back into the game, especially in the third quarter, where they scored twice. When you play a strong team like them, we need to be consistent in all quarters . ”
India will play their second practice match against Olympic champions Argentina on Wednesday.
“Every match we play is a learning experience and I think we have room to do better. We expect a good match on Wednesday as well.
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“These matches will definitely help us when we face the home team in double header pro league matches,” Reid said.
The Indian team is scheduled to play six matches against Argentina during their 16-day tour, including the double-header FIH Hockey Pro League matches on 11 and 12 April.
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