 "Harmanpreet Singh scored a late goal for India to rescue a point in a 1-1 draw against Argentina at the Paris Olympics on Monday. AP")
The India men’s hockey team rode on skipper Harmanpreet Singh’s equaliser to earn a point following a 1-1 draw against Argentina in a Pool B match of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Monday. The draw against Argentina comes a couple of days after India had beaten New Zealand 3-2 in their first Pool B match on Saturday.
Argentina’s Lucas Martinez had given his team a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute, and India seemed to be staring at a defeat. Harmanpreet, however, rescued his team towards the end of the game, converting India’s 10th penalty corner of the match with a goal.
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. 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.
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India were also let down by poor penalty corner conversion rate as they made use of just one out of the 10 set pieces earned in the entire match. India will next play Ireland on Tuesday before taking on Australia and reigning champions Belgium in their final two pool matches. The top four teams from each pool will qualify for the quarterfinals.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh said that his team needed to learn the art of finishing. India earned 10 penalty corners against Argentina but failed to convert a majority of them, until Harmanpreet did so later.
“The team is playing really well. We’re strong defensively, with or without the ball. With the ball, we’re creating a lot of chances and getting into the opponent’s circle. We can improve the outcome and the finishing in the upcoming games. We have a plan, we’re creating chances, but our finishing needs to be better,” Harmanpreet said after the match.
“We had our discussions with the coach on where to flick, and we were just following that. To be honest, if you look at the rushers today and during the match against New Zealand, and even our rushers, the first rushers are playing a very important role for every team. We need to devise a plan and strategy on how to beat them. Hopefully, in the next match, we will come up with a better plan and finish well,” he added.
With PTI inputs