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The Indian men's hockey team were made to work hard before a last-minute goal from Gurjant Singh helped the hosts register a 1-0 win over Ireland at the FIH Men's Hockey Pro League on Friday, February 16.
The Irish, who qualified for the Paris Games ahead of the Pro League tournament, kept a lid on the fearsome Indian attack with a structured and persistent zonal defense while also creating goalscoring chances for themselves.
India now have eight points from four matches with two outright wins against Spain and Ireland, a bonus point from a shootout win against the Netherlands, and a loss to Australia.
Coming back to the game, Jamie Carr was called into action in the third minute of play, stopping what would have been a certain opening goal for the Indians. The Irish goalie conceded a penalty corner in the process but Harmanpreet Singh's drag flick was stopped by Lee Cole on the line.
The Irish dominated possession in the latter part of the first quarter with Matthew Nelson forcing Kishan Pathak to pull off a save in the 11th minute.
Harmanpreet Singh was run down by Sam Hyland after the Indians earned their second short corner in the 20th minute even as Ireland, ranked 11th in the world, gave the Olympic bronze medalists a run for their money.
A third penalty corner for India in the 24th minute sailed over the crossbar after Harmanpreet Singh's drag flick took a deflection.
Sukhjeet Singh took a crack at the Irish goal in the 27th minute but shot wide. A tomahawk from Araijeet Singh Hundal was then stopped by Jamie Carr.
Akashdeep Singh finally found the back off the net a couple of minutes into the third quarter but the goal was overturned since Mandeep Singh had brought down Jamie Carr at the goalmouth.
Local hero Amit Rohidas tried his hand at a drag-flick in the 42nd minute but the Irish PC defence continued to deny the Indians in the fourth Men's Hockey Pro League match.
Harmanpreet Singh's 46th-minute penalty corner was stopped by Jamie Carr before Shane O'Dondoghue conceded a PC in the 51st minute which the Indians failed to convert.
Sreejesh did well to stop the Irish from scoring after the Men in Green earned two back-to-back short corners with eight minutes left on the clock.
Gurjant Singh who is now playing the role of a midfielder scored the all-important goal for the Indians in the 60th minute of their Men's Hockey Pro League encounter.
India slip to fourth place in FIH rankings following defeat to Australia at Men's Hockey Pro League
India, who occupied the third place in the FIH rankings slipped to the fourth position following a thrilling 4-6 defeat to Australia in their Men's Hockey Pro League game on Thursday, February 15.
As of Friday, the Indians were on 2779.81 points while the Germans, who defeated Belgium 2-0 at the Argentina leg of the tournament, climbed to the third spot.
The Indians, who lost to sixth-ranked Australia, slid down the ranking ladder while the Germans, who beat second-ranked Belgium, moved up.
Australia have some vital ranking points in the bag following a magnificent 5-4 win over the Netherlands, who are the top-ranked side in men's hockey. Colin Batch's team, who were down 0-3 at halftime, made a stunning comeback to defeat the Dutch during their Men's Hockey Pro League match on Friday.
