Buenos Aires, Apr 7 (FN Agency) The Indian men’s hockey team got off to a winning start on their tour of Argentina, beating the reigning Olympic champions 4-3 in the high-scoring first practice match here. Nilakanta Sharma (16th minute), Harmanpreet Singh (28th), Rupinder Pal Singh (33rd) and Varun Kumar (47th) were the goal scorers for India late on Tuesday night. Dragflicker Leandro Tolini (35th, 53rd) and Maico Casella (41st) scored for the Argentina.
Dilpreet Singh then earned India a penalty corner in the 28th minute and Harmanpreet made no mistake to hand his team a 2-0 lead with a sensational strike. Argentina made a strong comeback in the third quarter as they scored in the 32nd minute via Tolini, who was spot on while converting a penalty corner. But, India were quick to respond as they won a set piece in the 33rd minute through Jaskaran Singh and this time the seasoned Rupinder was bang on target to give a the tourists a 3-1 lead. Argentina, however, reduced the margin again with another goal in the 42nd minute through Casella. Though, they vied for an equaliser by earning yet another PC in the following minute, young India goalkeeper Krishan Pathak was alert to stop the goal. The final quarter remained tense with both teams upping the ante. In the 47th minute, India’s Dilpreet Singh set up a fine PC which was well-struck by Varun Kumar who has returned to the squad after a hamstring injury.
India will play their second practice match against Olympic champions Argentina on Wednesday. ‘Each match we play is a learning experience and I feel we have scope to do better. We look forward to a good match on Wednesday too. These matches will surely help us when we take on the home team in the double header Pro League matches,’ Reid said. The Indian team led by Skipper Manpreet Singh is scheduled to play six matches against Argentina during its 16-day tour including the double-header FIH Hockey Pro league matches on April 11 and 12.