Antwerp: Indian men’s hockey team registered a hard-fought 5-4 win over Argentina in penalty shootout after a 2-2 tie in regulation time in its opening match of the European leg of the FIH Pro League 2023-24 season in Antwerp on Wednesday.
India took the lead in the 11th minute after a well-constructed move down the right flank with Mandeep Singh providing the final touch. Lucas Martinez equalised for Argentina from a Penalty Corner five minutes into the second quarter.
In the 55th minute, Jarmanpreet Singh expertly brought down an aerial pass on the edge of the shooting circle. He took the ball towards the baseline before providing the cut-back to Lalit Kumar Upadhyay at the near post who made no mistake in scoring the goal.
Just when it looked like India had sealed the win in regulation time, Argentina found another equaliser. Less than 30 seconds before the final hooter, Tomas Demene successfully converted a PC. However, India held its nerve as PR Sreejesh came up with some crucial saves to lead to a 5-4 win in sudden death in the shootout.
India and Argentina got one point each for the draw while the men in blue received one bonus point for winning the shootout. Harmanpreet-Singh led team has 17 points in nine games.
India next faces Belgium on Thursday night. Agencies
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