Tokyo 2020: India beat defending champions Argentina 3-1 and advance to the quarter-finals
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Dilpreet Singh and Vivek Sagar joined to score India's subsequent goal, which viably was the defining moment of the game.
On Thursday, the India men's hockey team crushed reigning Olympic Champions Argentina 3-1 in their fourth group A game here at Oi Hockey Stadium - North Pitch. With this success, the group has qualified for the quarterfinals in the Olympics.
After goalless initial two quarters, India broke the gridlock in the 43rd moment through Varun Kumar before Vivek Sagar Prasad (58th) and Harmanpreet Singh (59th) struck in the end minutes of the match to seal the challenge.
India have solidified their spot in the second spot of Pool A with three successes and one loss out of four games, behind Australia.
Argentina are battling at the fifth spot in the six-group pool and need to beat New Zealand in their final group match on Friday to remain in the chase for a quarterfinal.
The best four make the last-eight phase from each group. India will play Japan in their last pool match on Friday.
The Indians were forceful and squeezed the Argentine defense from the start, attacking in numbers. India totally overwhelmed the first quarter, mounting a large number of attacks yet the Argentines shielded strongly to baffle their rivals.
The Indians ruled possession and infiltrated the Argentine circle on various events yet the final pass was absent. However, The absence of inventiveness in the striking circle stays a worry for India, which has neglected to improve, particularly down the right flank with passes that were all around unsurprising.
Manpreet and co. will be facing solid European sides like Belgium, the Netherlands, or Germany in the knock-out game and all have a lot of involvement with their defensive line-ups. India should consolidate better in and around the striking circle.
What was cheering, nevertheless, was the way where young Dilpreet Singh and Vivek Sagar joined to score India's subsequent goal, which viably was the defining moment of the game.