Breda: India has registered a second consecutive victory of the Hockey Champions Trophy, beating Argentina 2-1 in a spectacular competition between the two teams.
After a slow start to the game, both the teams ended the first quarter at 0-0. Right from the start of the second quarter, Indian players showed some aggression and attacked the goal-post multiple times. They got a penalty corner in the 17th minute and the opposition goalkeeper had no answer to Harmanpreet’s furious strike.
Taking 1-0 lead in the match, India continued its combative display on the field. They smashed another goal in the 28th minute and this time, it was Mandeep Singh who did the job for his team.
Argentina tried coming back to the match after Gonzalo Peillat took a penalty stroke in the 30th minute, making the score 2-0. They generated a couple of chances after that as well but Indian goalkeeper Sreejesh proved too good for Argentina forwards. They tried till the last minute and strived hard for an equalizer. But, at that stage, it was too late for the Olympic Champions to get past sixth-ranked India.
In the penultimate minute of the match, India forward SV Sunil took the ball in possession, hits it towards the goalpost but it missed the target. The next minute, it was India who were celebrating their victory over the Olympic Champions.
Earlier, India had crushed Pakistan 4-0 in the opening game of the tournament.
They will take on Australia in their next clash on June 27.(ANI)