Hockey WC: India’s slim hopes of reaching semifinals end with loss to Argentina

India’s men’s hockey team failed to overcome the pressure of conceding an early goal and saw its hopes of reaching the World Cup semifinals end with a 3-5 loss to Argentina here on Monday.

After losing to the Netherlands in their previous match, India were almost out of the race for the last four from Pool E. However, Argentina’s victory over England had technically kept their qualification hopes alive.

India needed to win by at least three goals to advance, but conceded twice in the opening six minutes and struggled to recover. Poor passing, frequent loss of possession and a leaky defence compounded their problems.

India did manage to score twice within a span of two minutes late in the match, but by then it was too little, too late. The Netherlands have already qualified for the semifinals from the pool, with the second semifinalist to be decided by the final pool match between England and the Netherlands.

Argentina, which defeated India 8-0 and 4-2 in the FIH Pro League in Rourkela earlier this year, continued its dominance. Joaquin Toscani (1st minute), Nicolas Della Torre (6th), Tomas Domene (33rd, 45th) and Lucas Toscani (53rd) scored for Argentina, while Sukhjeet Singh struck twice (10th, 58th) and Hardik Singh converted a penalty stroke in the 59th minute for India.

With this defeat, India remained fourth in the pool without a point from three matches and will now play for seventh or eighth place.

India needed to win by at least three goals to keep their semifinal hopes alive, but Argentina put them under pressure from the start, scoring in the 39th second. Toscani received the ball on the right and fired it into the net, giving Indian goalkeeper Mohit HS no chance. In the third minute, a mistake by Jarmanpreet Singh inside the circle gifted Argentina their first penalty corner. Mohit brilliantly kept out Tomas Domene’s flick before the Indian defenders cleared the danger.

Argentina doubled their lead in the sixth minute. The ball deflected off an Argentine striker’s stick and struck Yashdeep, earning them another penalty corner, which Nicolas converted to put his side firmly in control.

India responded with greater urgency after conceding twice and pulled one back four minutes later through Sukhjeet. Abhishek set him up from outside the left side of the circle, and Sukhjeet fired a powerful diagonal shot into the net. Argentina came close to scoring again in the 15th minute when Ibarra Ignacio took the ball and passed it to Ruiz Tomas, who then passed it to Toscani, but this time Mohit blocked the attempt.

The score was 2-1 after the first 15 minutes. Neither team scored in the second quarter. Although India created some chances, their own mistakes prevented them from finishing.

In the 20th minute, Hardik ran down the left flank and crossed the ball inside the ‘D’ to Harmanpreet, who had already advanced and failed to intercept it. Four minutes later, Harmanpreet snatched the ball from the Argentine players in midfield and passed it to Dilpreet for a counterattack, but he failed to trap it, giving India another missed opportunity.  The score remained 2-1 at the break.

Argentina also started the third quarter aggressively and earned a penalty corner in the very first minute, but Nicolas’ attempt was thwarted by the Indian goalkeeper. The Argentines demanded another penalty corner, but it was denied after a referral.

Another lapse by the Indian defence gifted Argentina their third goal. In the 33rd minute, Domene scored his seventh goal of the tournament with a reverse hit through a disorganised Indian defence. With this, he surpassed Indian captain Harmanpreet, who had scored six goals in the tournament.

India received four consecutive penalty corners in the next minute. Harmanpreet’s first attempt was blocked, but the ball hit a defender’s foot, resulting in another penalty corner. The next two penalty corners were awarded after the first rusher collided with the ball, while Harmanpreet attempted a drag flick on the fourth, but the ball bounced high and went over the goal.

India had another chance to score in the 37th minute when Yashdeep passed the ball from the right flank to Dilpreet inside the circle. Dilpreet made a good attempt but missed the mark.

India received a penalty corner in the 40th minute when Harmanpreet’s flick hit Sukhjeet’s stick. Harmanpreet took a review for a foul, but India lost the referral.