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The Indian women's hockey team went down 1-2 to Argentina in a pulsating semi-final at the Oi Hockey Stadium in Tokyo on Wednesday (August 04).
Check Out: Tokyo Olympics 2021 Schedule
Their medal hopes aren't over, however. Although India cannot win the gold or silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2021, they will get a crack at the bronze when they meet Great Britain in a couple of days time. Argentina, meanwhile, will meet the Netherlands in the summit clash.
Sometimes a hockey scoreboard doesn't always tell the true story - just like how it was on a sultry Wednesday evening in Tokyo. Although the scoreboard displayed a 2-1 win for Argentina, the valiant fight the Indian women's hockey team put in will never be on record.
India started well, with Neha Goyal dribbling into the ‘D’ with agility and in a melee, won India a penalty corner. Gurjit Kaur converted it by timing her drag flick to perfection to the bottom left corner of the goal as India went 1-0 ahead in as early as the second minute.
The early goal rattled Argentina and they tried to up the ante immediately. However, India were resolute in their defense with Monika and Deep Grace Ekka making sure most of the Argentines' attempts were thwarted.
Check Out: Tokyo Olympics Hockey Schedule
Sushila was slightly sloppy later on in the circle as Argentina threatened a comeback but Savita Punia made sure it was difficult to breach the Indian goal.
The aggression shown by Argentina made India go into defensive mode and suddenly the intensity dropped as the Argentines began dictating terms. Although India did manage a couple of circle entries, they were unable to breach the Argentine citadel and were immediately pushed to the backfoot by strong and agile counter-attacks from either flank.
It was the Argentine skipper, Noel Maria Barrionuevo, who rose to the occasion and restored parity in the 27th minute. Barrionuevo rocketed a drag flick, arising out of a penalty corner, into the bottom corner of the Indian net.
The equalizer put India under the pump as Sjoerd Marijne's side struggled to gain possession in the dying minutes of the second quarter. India could have taken the lead again when Vandana Katariya pushed herself into the circle and sent a wonderfully-placed cross to Lalremsiami. But the forward fluffed her lines as the scores remained level.
Salima Tete then won a penalty corner but Maria Succi pulled off a fantastic save in goal to deny Gurjit Kaur and India. Neha Goyal was on the money with smart work in the circle by beating the Argentine defense but her tomahawk couldn’t yield any results as the teams took the break at 1-1.
India recover from the Argentine pressure, but too little too late
India's defending from penalty corners returned to haunt them once again as Argentine skipper Barrionuevo put her team in the lead minutes after the restart with her second goal of the game. From there on, Argentina dictated terms while the Indian midfield and back line came a cropper.
The Indians couldn’t stitch passes properly as Navjot Kaur, Navneet, Gurjit Kaur and Sushila were guilty of misplaced passes on multiple occasions. India did pull up their socks in the final minutes of the third quarter but it was way off the mark as they struggled to breach the Argentine defense.
However, a minute’s break is all that was needed for Sjoerd Marijne to instill belief in India. The side came out all guns blazing to leave a mark on proceedings in the last 15 minutes.
Skipper Rani Rampal penetrated into the circle but didn’t have enough fuel in her tank to go the distance. Lalremsiami could have then brought India on level terms soon after she took a neat pass from Monika Malik. But the Argentine custodian Succi was on the money to deny India once again.
India's game plan took Argentina by surprise and Gurjit Singh received another penalty corner opportunity. But Argentina's alert defense saved the side's blushes once again. The Indians continued to push ahead in droves but their effort didn't yield any results as they fell short at the hooter.
