Tokyo Olympics: India beat Olympic champions Argentina 3-1, enter hockey quarterfinals
With this victory, India remains second in the pool and qualified for the quarterfinal of the men's hockey competition at the Tokyo Olympics with a game to spare.
FollowThe Indian men's hockey team won their Pool-A match 3-1 against Argentina at the north pitch of the Oi Hockey Stadium in Tokyo.
India completely dominated the Rio Olympic Games-2016 champions Argentina in the first half.Â
The game was mostly played in the Argentine half. However, India could not convert any of their chances into a goal.
In the third quarter, India got two consecutive penalty corners in the 41st minute of the match. These were the first two penalty corners of the match, but the Indian hockey team failed to convert them into goals against Argentina.Â
India did go on to score two minutes before the end of the third quarter when Varun Kumar, who made his Olympic debut, converted India's third penalty corner into a goal.
That was India's only goal from seven penalty corners in three-quarters of the game.
In the last quarter, Argentina came back strongly. Argentina capitalised on the first opportunity they got to level the scoreline.
Maico Schuth Casela scored off a penalty corner in the 48th minute.
Having been given a wake-up call, India regrouped and pushed forward in the Argentinian circle.Â
Indian forward Vivek Sagar Pratap put India ahead once again after Dilpreet Singh hit the ball towards the goal. This was Vivek's first goal in the Olympic Games.
And then in the dying moments of the game, drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh converted a penalty corner against the Rio Olympic champions, making India's win margin 3-1 to ensure his team remains second in the pool. This was Harmanpreet's third goal in Tokyo 2020.
India's last match in the league stage will be against the host Japan on Friday.
