After a heart breaking 1-2 loss to Germany on Monday, few backed India to come out all guns blazing against world No 2 Argentina on Tuesday. However, Roelant Oltman's side stunned their higher-ranked opponents 2-1 to keep their quarter-final hopes alive. India, ranked fifth in the world, had not beaten Argentina since 2009, and Carlos Retegui's side were also undefeated in Rio until this encounter. With this win, India bagged the three points on offer and moved up to second spot, behind Germany.
India went 1-0 up with help of Chinglensana Singh, who converted a penalty corner, in the first quarter. Kothajit Singh doubled the lead to make it 2-0 in the third quarter. However, Argentina pulled one back in the fourth quarter with the help of superb drag-flick from Gonzalo Peillat. India captain PR Sreejesh pulled out some fine saves from repeated penalty corners and shots in the fourth quarter to deny his team another heartbreak. India now face the Netherlands on Thursday at 6:30 pm IST.
