Paris (France): Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh's timely goal helped India finish the closely fought Pool B encounter with Argentina in a draw at the hockey competition of the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympics on Monday. Argentina's Martinez Lucas put his side in the driver's seat with a 22nd-minute field goal and was the only goal-scorer for his side in the match.
India got 10 penalty corners, six more than Argentina, opportunities to score a goal through a penalty corner, but finally got the success in the final shot. On the other hand, the Argentinian side failed to score a goal in four penalty corners.
The Indians had defeated New Zealand in their Pool B opener on Saturday. The match, which also had former Indian cricket captain and head coach Rahul Dravid in the stands, started on a slow pace before picking up the momentum. Despite chasing the game for the entire time, the Harmanpreet Singh-led side had better possession (55%) than the rivals.
The Indians were let in by a below-par performance from the midfield as the likes of vice-captain Hardik Singh and Manpreet Singh were nowhere to be seen. India were also let down by the poor penalty corner conversion rate as they made use of just one out of the 10 set pieces earned in the entire match. The strategy of giving long or aerial passes didn't go India's way as the Argentinian side managed to put more pressure back on the Indian side with short passes and front press.
FullTime:
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) July 29, 2024
A last minute goal from Harmanpreet Singh from Penalty corners secures a draw for Team India.
What a game!
India 🇮🇳 1️⃣ - 1️⃣ 🇦🇷 Argentina
Harmanpreet Singh 59' (PC)
Lucas Martinez 22'#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #Hockey #Paris24 #HockeyLayegaGold #IndiaAtParis…
India will next play Ireland on Tuesday before taking on Australia and reigning champions Belgium in their final two pool B matches. The top four teams from each pool will qualify for the quarterfinals.
