Rourkela, Feb 12 (IANS) India succumbed to an 8-0 defeat against Argentina in their second match of the Rourkela leg of the FIH Men’s Pro League 2025–26 at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela on Thursday. Tomas Domene (15’, 20’, 26’, 60’), Tomas Ruiz (14’), Lucio Mendez (22’), Ignacio Ibarra (25′), and Nicolas della Torre (30’) scored goals in a dominant display for the visitors.

It was an engaging start to the game with India beginning the game on the front foot, looking to make inroads in the early exchanges. After a spell of possession, the hosts had the opportunity to draw first blood towards the end of the first quarter, having been awarded a penalty stroke. However, Harmanpreet Singh was denied from the spot by the Argentine goalkeeper.

Argentina scored almost instantly with Tomas Ruiz (14’) powering his tomahawk into the back of the net to give his side the lead. The visitors quickly doubled their advantage as Tomas Domene (15’) managed to guide his effort past Suraj Karkera to give his side a 2-0 lead in the opening quarter.

Looking for a way back into the game, India began the second quarter by putting pressure back on Argentina. Shilanand Lakra and Harmanpreet Singh did well to earn a couple of penalty corners, but the hosts couldn’t quite find their opening goal. With momentum on their side, Argentina continued to pile on the pressure.

Tomas Domene (20’) tripled their lead with a composed finish, and Lucio Mendez (22’) soon added a fourth. Ignacio Ibarra (25’) rifled his shot from a tight angle to score a fifth, while Tomas Domene (26’) completed his hat-trick soon after. Nicolas della Torre (30’) also got on the scoresheet, closing out the first half with a 7-0 lead for Argentina.

India showed enough character in the second half, creating some notable opportunities with Shilanand Lakra and Aditya Lalage coming close to finding the back of the net. However, Tomas Santiago stood tall in goal for Argentina. Despite creating scoring opportunities, an evenly contested third quarter ended goalless.

The hosts pushed forward in the final quarter, earning their third penalty corner of the match. However, Argentina managed to find the back of the net against the run of play with Tomas Domene (60’) adding a fourth goal to his tally, and giving his side an 8-0 win.

–IANS

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