India look to continue winning run against unpredictable Argentina in Paris Olympics men’s hockey

Paris, Jul 28 (PTI) Their campaign off to a winning start, India would eye a consistent performance when they take on unpredictable Argentina in their second match of the Olympic men’s hockey competition here on Monday.

India beat New Zealand 3-2 in a tense opening match on Saturday with captain Harmanpreet Singh scoring the winner in the dying minutes from a penalty stroke.

It was not an easy outing against New Zealand who were initially leading 1-0 before the Harmanpreet-led side made a recovery.

Monday’s match against Argentina is also expected to be a tough one as the South Americans are famous for man-to-man marking and hard play, which the Indian midfield will have to withstand.

The Indians are placed in a tough Pool B alongside reigning champions Belgium, mighty Australia, Argentina, New Zealand and Ireland.

The first three matches against New Zealand, Argentina and Ireland are crucial for India to garner maximum points before squaring against Belgium and Australia.

A win on Monday will more or less ensure India’s entry into the quarterfinals of the Paris Games.

India’s talismanic goalkeeper PR Srejeesh, playing his last international tournament, once again rose to the occasion and denied the Black Sticks on numerous occasions on Saturday, standing like a wall in front of the goal as usual.

India are currently placed second in Pool B behind Belgium but ahead of third-placed Australia but these are initial stages and at the end of of the day, everything will boil down to the next two matches against Argentina and Ireland.

In the 12-team competition divided into two pools, four sides from each pool will qualify for the quarterfinals.

Argentina are known for their hard-tackling and power game, and the Indian defence will have to be on its toes to deny any easy opening for the Argentines as they did against New Zealand on Saturday.

The likes of skipper Harmanpreet, Amit Rohidas and Sumit will have to be at their best to make life simple for Sreejesh.

The midfield, manned by Manpreet and vice-captain Hardik Singh, looks to be in the safe hands and they will like to continue in the same flow.

The forwardline, led by Mandeep, also looks settled but the likes of Abhishek, Gurjant Singh and Sukhjeet Singh will have to be more proactive to create goal-scoring chances.

Going by rankings, there is hardly anything to sperate between the two sides as Argentina are placed sixth, while India are a rung below in the seventh position.