Indian men's hockey team plays out 4-4 draw against Argentina

After winning the first practice match 4-3, India was held to a pulsating 4-4 draw by Argentina in the second match in Buenos Aires.

Published : Apr 08, 2021 08:50 IST , Buenos Aires

Rupinder Pal Singh scored in the 14th minute to give India an early lead. (File Photo)
Rupinder Pal Singh scored in the 14th minute to give India an early lead. (File Photo)
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Rupinder Pal Singh scored in the 14th minute to give India an early lead. (File Photo)

Olympic champion Argentina quelled India's chances of a second consecutive victory as it made a strong comeback for a 4-4 draw in a tense practice match on Wednesday.

It was Varun Kumar (7th and 44th), Rajkumar Pal (13th), Rupinder Pal Singh (14th) who scored for India while Leandro Tolini (10th), Lucas Toscani (23rd), Ignacio Ortiz (42nd) and Lucas (57th) found the target for the home team.

India had won the first practice match 4-3.

 

India made a fine start with a well-structured attack that fetched the team three goals in the first quarter.

The first goal was courtesy of forward Mandeep Singh who helped India earn a penalty corner (PC) in the seventh minute which was effortlessly converted by dragflicker Varun Kumar.

Though an early 1-0 lead put the home side on the backfoot, it bounced back in the 10th minute after earning a PC.

Tolini, who scored twice in the previous match, came up with a well-executed dragflick to equalise.

India, however, regained the lead with Rajkumar Pal's goal in the 13th minute. He was assisted by Nilakanta Sharma who has been in good nick, showing his prowess as an attacking midfielder.

 

In the following minute, a PC earned by India forward Lalit Upadyay saw Rupinder score a splendid goal, taking India's lead to 3-1 in the 14th minute.

The second quarter began with both teams trading PCs with each other but none were successful. However, in the 23rd minute, Argentina's Toscani struck a fine goal to narrow India's lead to 3-2.

Though India replied with an aggressive attack, it was unable to create successful forays into the striking circle.

Following the 10-minute halftime break, both teams vied to dominate with the ball and played on par with each other to keep the tempo up.

It was eventually Argentina who succeeded in breaking the gridlock in this quarter by earning a PC which was well-struck by Argentina's attacking midfielder Ignacio Ortiz.

 

The 3-3 equaliser didn't dampen India's spirit as it successfully scored the fourth goal via forward Dilpreet Singh who made a successful entry into the striking circle, earning India a PC in the 44th minute.

Varun made no mistake in converting the goal and regaining the lead for India.

With the visitor ahead only by a goal, the last quarter was a battle of nerves with the home team stepping on the gas to secure an equaliser.

Though it created a PC in the early minutes of the fourth quarter, it was well-saved by India custodian Krishan Pathak but he could do little to stop Lucas's field goal in the 57th minute, thus ending the game in a 4-4 stalemate.

India will next face Argentina in the FIH Hockey Pro League match on April 11 at 01:30 IST.

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