Amstelveen (Netherlands), June 12 (IANS) India suffered a close 1-2 defeat against Argentina in their FIH Hockey Pro League 2024/25 game at the Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen, Netherlands on Thursday.

Jugraj Singh (4′) netted a goal for the Indian team, while for Argentina, Tomas Domene (9’, 49’) scored a brace. Notably, India’s regular captain Harmanpreet Singh missed the game due to a finger tissue injury sustained in the previous match. In his absence, Vice-Captain Hardik Singh stepped up to lead the team.

Argentina started the game with high pressing and greater ball possession, but India responded with sharp passing and swift circle entries. This early momentum earned them a penalty corner, which Jugraj Singh (4’) converted with a powerful drag flick to hand India the lead. Argentina quickly earned a penalty corner of their own, but Indian goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak stood tall, making a crucial save and clearing the danger.

Moments later, Pathak was called into action again, diving to deny another Argentine penalty corner conversion. However, the Argentines got third time lucky as Tomas Domene (9’) fired home to level the score. Both teams continued to threaten, but the first quarter ended evenly poised at 1-1.

The second quarter saw Argentina pushing forward with early circle entries, but India’s defence held firm to thwart their advances. India responded by intercepting passes and launching speedy counter-attacks, putting pressure on Argentina’s goalkeeper Tomas Santiago, who stood his ground with key saves.

Argentina, too, found themselves in promising positions but failed to convert their chances. Despite the end-to-end action, neither side could break the deadlock in the second quarter, and the teams went into halftime with the score still level at 1-1.

The penultimate quarter saw both teams adopting a cautious approach, focusing on maintaining possession and controlling the tempo of the game. Much of the action unfolded in the midfield, with both India and Argentina finding it difficult to penetrate each other’s defensive lines.

As a result, clear-cut chances were few and far between, and neither side managed to create any substantial threats in the attacking circle. The evenly contested third quarter ended without any change to the scoreline, which remained tied at 1-1 heading into the final period.

Argentina came out strong in the fourth and final quarter, applying relentless pressure on India’s defence with aggressive pressing. Their efforts soon bore fruit as Tomas Domene (49’) struck his second goal of the match, once again converting a penalty corner to give Argentina a 2-1 lead. Trailing for the first time in the game, India shifted to a long-passing strategy in search of an equaliser.

However, Argentina remained compact at the back, successfully absorbing the pressure and denying India any clear breakthroughs.

India’s best opportunity came in the dying moments when they were awarded a penalty stroke with less than two minutes left on the clock. Jugraj Singh stepped up to take the shot, but his effort was brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Tomas Santiago. The crucial save ensured Argentina held on to their narrow lead, eventually sealing a 2-1 victory.

As a result of the loss, India now sit fifth in the points table with 15 points from 12 matches. They will next play against Australia on June 14.

It is worth noting that both India and Argentina observed a one-minute silence before the match to pay tribute to the victims of the tragic Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad earlier today — an incident that has deeply shaken the nation.

–IANS

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