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Tokyo Olympics: India lose to Argentina 1-2 in Women's Hockey semi-final

Indian women's dreams of entering the finals of the Tokyo Olympics Women's Hockey ended on Tuesday as they lost to Argentina 1-2 in the semi-final match.  

Tokyo Olympics Women's Hockey India lose to Argentina-VPN
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Oi Hockey Stadium, First Published Aug 4, 2021, 5:08 PM IST

Indian women's dreams of entering the finals of the Tokyo Olympics Women's Hockey ended on Tuesday as they lost to Argentina 1-2 in the semi-final match. India's women's hockey team can still win a medal when they face off against Great Britain for the Bronze. 

Argentina did not let the pressure on the Indian defence ease as it controlled ball possession in the midfield and kept penetrating.

The Indian hockey team maintained a 1-0 lead against Argentina at the end of the first quarter.

Gurjit Kaur gave the Indian team the lead by converting a penalty corner in the second minute of the start of the match. 

The Indian women dominated their opponents in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Argentinians struck back. 

Argentina had made the score 1-1 on a penalty corner in the third minute of the start of the second quarter. Maria Noel Barrionuevo scored for Argentina off a penalty corner in the 18th minute of the match.

The score at the end of the second quarter at the Oi Hockey Stadium read 1-1. Both teams failed to convert penalty corners. 

In the second half, Argentina took a 2-1 lead against the Indian team in the 36th minute of the match. 
Once again, Maria Noel Barrionuevo proved why she is regarded as one of the best strikers in the game. Scoring off a penalty corner, Maria drag-flick deflected off Sushila Chanu's leg before going into the goal. 

The umpire also took a TV referral before awarding the goal. But the goal was deemed correct.

In the fourth quarter, India pushed ahead trying to level the score. However, the Indian women were unable to equalize.

India finished last in Rio 2016 after qualifying for the Olympic women's hockey for the second time after a long gap of 36 years.

Rani Rampal's team changed positions in Tokyo after losing three consecutive group stages to the Netherlands, Germany and Great Britain. 

The Indian women's hockey team has now registered three consecutive wins. In the group stage, the Indian team defeated Ireland and South Africa and showed their way out after beating Australia in the quarters.

Vandana Katariya, Rani Rampal, Sharmila Devi, Navneet Kaur, Neha Goyal and Gurjit Kaur, who scored hat-tricks against South Africa, have been the goal scorers for India in the Tokyo Olympics.

PM speaks to the women's hockey team

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephone conversation with women's hockey captain Rani Rampal and coach Sjoerd Marijne. 

Expressing pride at the performance of the women's hockey team, Prime Minister Modi said that the women's team is a skilled group of athletes who have worked very hard and that they must look ahead. 

He also said that wins and losses are a part of life and that they must not be disheartened.

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