Bhubaneswar: World No.1 and Olympic champions Argentina entered the summit clash of the Men’s Hockey World League Finals (HWLF) pipping hosts India by a solitary goal in their semifinal encounter at the Kalinga Stadium here Friday. Gonzalo Peillat (17th minute) scored the only goal of the match.
On a pitch where fluent movement was impossible due to incessant rains, both sides had a hard time to control the ball. However, it was India’s old disease of failing to convert chances that proved to be their undoing.
The hosts missed a golden chance in the 11th minute when SV Sunil’s brilliant well-directed cross from the left went to waste as his teammates failed to meet the ball. The Argentina defence was completely beaten, but both Akashdeep Singh and Mandeep Singh failed to be at the right spot at the right time.
Argentina went on the offensive and kept India under pressure all through the second quarter. In the 17th minute, they earned a penalty corner after a video referral. Peillat made no mistake, against beating Akash Chikte to his left. This was the fourth time in the tournament that Chikte was founding wanting when the ball had been hit towards his left side.
Boosted by the goal, the Olympic champions kept the aggression going. They come close to scoring midway into the quarter. Matias Pardes and Nahuel Salis worked in tandem down the left to open gaps in the Indian defence. Only a last ditch tackle by Birendra Lakra saved the situation for India.
Counter-attack being their forte, the Indians found the slushy turf holding up their efforts. They failed to keep the ball rolling and on a number of occasions overhit the ball. They tried to play the aerial game, but the physically stronger South Americans were equal to the task.
India suffered a further setback when skipper Manpreet Singh was yellow carded and the hosts had to play with 10 men for five minutes.
After the change of ends, India shifted gears, but had difficulty in controlling the ball on the heavy surface. However the hosts were rewarded for their aggression in form of their first penalty corner in the 36th minute. But Rupinder Pal Singh’s eternal woes continued as he hit the ball over the bar. India tried desperately for the equaliser, but it eluded them till the end of the third quarter.
India continued their good work at the start of the last quarter and continuously made inroads into the opposition’s defence. However Akashdeep and Sunil’s hit were brilliantly saved by Juan Vivaldi in the 51st and 52nd minutes respectively and with that hopes of a spot in the finals disappeared.
India had got bronze in the last edition of the event at Raipur in 2015. That is the same medal they will be hoping to get when they face the losers of the other semifinal between Germany and Australia.
Rajendra Prasad Mohapatra
