India's men's hockey team defeated Argentina 3-1 at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday. Argentina's team has been the gold medalist of the Rio Olympics. The performance of the Indian team this time indicates that India is now on the way to regain its old prestige in this game. The Indian team has also made a big record by winning three matches in the group round. After 37 years, the Indian team has been able to win 3 matches in the group stage. The last time India did this feat was in 1984.
The Indian team defeated Argentina 3-1 in a one-sided fashion in the Pool A match on Thursday. The Indian team dominated the game in all four quarters. Neither team could score in the first two quarters but India remained ahead in circle penetration. Varun Kumar scored the first goal for India on a penalty corner in the 43rd minute of the match.
After this, two goals were scored for India in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter. Vivek Sagar Prasad scored in the 58th minute and captain Harampreet Singh in the 59th minute. Casilla scored for Argentina in the 48th minute.
The Indian team's last pool match will be against hosts Japan on Friday. Japan's team is the weakest team in this group and has lost three out of their four matches. If the Indian team defeats Japan, it will win four matches in the group stage for the first time since 1972. In the 1972 Olympics, India won 5 out of 7 matches in the group stage.
After this, India could not win more than 3 matches in the group stage in any Olympics. After 1984, the Indian team had never won more than 2 matches in the group stage.
The Indian team has decided to reach the quarter-finals. However, India still has to play many tough matches to win the medal. If the team finishes second in Pool A, it could face Germany, Netherlands or Britain in the last eight. These three teams have managed to win 2 out of their 3-3 matches in Pool B so far. India's record against all these teams has not been very good in the last 30 years.
The Indian team has defeated Argentina for the second time in a row in the Olympic Games. In the Rio Olympics, India defeated this opponent 2-1 in the group stage match itself. However, the Argentine team, recovering from that defeat, finally managed to win the gold medal. At the same time, the Indian team lost to Belgium in the quarter-finals.
Like and Follow us on :
