Hockey: India beat Argentina 4-3 for profitable begin to tour

The Indian males’s hockey workforce made a constructive begin to its tour of Argentina, beating the reigning Olympic champions 4-3 within the first apply match in Buenos Aires.
Nilakanta Sharma (sixteenth minute), Harmanpreet Singh (twenty eighth), Rupinder Pal Singh (thirty third) and Varun Kumar (forty seventh) had been the aim scorers for India late on Tuesday night time.
Dragflicker Leandro Tolini (thirty fifth, 53rd) and Maico Casella (forty first) scored for the house workforce.
“It was a very good practice match, intensely fought by both teams. It is always nice to come up with a win against a team like Olympic Champions Argentina as it amplifies our confidence levels,” India coach Graham Reid mentioned of the win.
Both groups had been gradual to get off the blocks within the first quarter, but it surely was India who picked up tempo within the second quarter.
Shilanand Lakra was the creator of India’s first aim as his immaculate help discovered Nilakanta contained in the circle and the striker put the ball previous Argentina’s goalkeeper at hand the guests lead.
India, thereafter, pushed the hosts on the backfoot with persistent assaults.
Argentina replied to India’s aggressive present by securing a penalty nook quickly however skilled custodian PR Sreejesh made a superb save to maintain the hosts at bay.
Dilpreet Singh then earned India a penalty nook within the twenty eighth minute and Harmanpreet made no mistake at hand his workforce a 2-0 lead with a robust strike.
Argentina made a robust comeback within the third quarter as they scored within the thirty second minute by way of Tolini, who was spot on whereas changing a penalty nook.But India had been fast to reply as they gained a set piece within the thirty third minute by means of Jaskaran Singh and this time the seasoned Rupinder was bang on track to provide a the vacationers a 3-1 lead.
Argentina, nonetheless, lowered the margin once more with one other aim within the forty second minute by means of Casella.
Soon after the Argentines earned one other penalty nook however younger India goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak got here to his aspect’s rescue.
India put up a resolute combat to keep up their lead within the last quarter.
In the forty seventh minute, Dilpreet earned one other penalty nook for India and this time Varun, who has returned to the squad after recovering from a hamstring harm, despatched the ball crashing into the Argentina internet.
Though Argentina pulled one other again within the 53rd minute by means of Tolini, the visiting workforce put up a spirited defence to finish the sport in its favour.
“We were able to create opportunities in the circle and also convert them. This was one of the areas we really put our minds to in the national camp,” Reid mentioned.
“But we allowed Argentina to come back again into the sport notably within the third quarter the place they scored twice.

When you play a robust workforce like them, we must be constant in all of the quarters,” he added.
India will play their second apply match towards Olympic champions Argentina on Wednesday.
“Each match we play is a studying expertise and I really feel we’ve got scope to do higher. We stay up for a superb match on Wednesday too.
“These matches will surely help us when we take on the home team in the double header Pro League matches,” Reid mentioned.
The Indian workforce is scheduled to play six matches towards Argentina throughout its 16-day tour together with the double-header FIH Hockey Pro league matches on April 11 and 12.