Argentina outwit Indiainrain
On raindrenched turf, Rio gold medallists adjust well to beat hosts by solitary goal
BHUBANESWAR: India continued to be dogged by the same old frailties as they lost to Rio Olympic Games champions Argentina in the semi-final of the Hockey World League Final by a solitary goal here on Friday. It was déjà vu for the hosts as they had lost the semi-final to Belgium in the 2015 edition at Raipur by the same margin, eventually taking bronze after defeating the Dutch in shoot-out.
On Friday, Argentine dragflicker Gonzalo Peillat converted the lone penalty corner his side earned into a goal to seal victory and a place in the final. India will now take on the loser of the Australia vs Germany match in the bronze-medal contest on Sunday.
A downpour ensured the teams played the game in slow motion. While the Argentines went for the aerials and overheads, the Indians relied on short passes to breach the packed rival defence, lest they got penalised for dangerous play.
This, though, proved counterproductive for India, who could not play a fluid passing game and found tackling on sodden turf a difficult task. Argentina capitalised on the only penalty-corner opportunity in the second quarter with Peillat coming up with a last-minute improvisation to flummox the hosts. He positioning himself a few metres left of his normal position to reduce the distance the ball had to travel through sopping wet turf and flicked the ball into the left corner of the goal between goalkeeper Akash Chikte and Varun Kumar in the 17th minute.
It was these minor adjustments the more experienced Argentines --- who have six players in their 30s --- made that earned them rich dividends.
A desperate India, who had a thrilling 3-3 (3-2) win in sudden death against Belgium in the quarter-final, raised the tempo of their attacks in the last two quarters but to no avail. Skipper Manpreet Singh was penalised for a foul on his opponent during a sliding tackle and was sent off for 10 minutes with seven minutes remaining in the second quarter, thus breaking the rhythm.
Earlier, the Netherlands defeated England by 1-0 to finish seventh. Mirco Pruijser struck the goal in the 42nd minute.