By Prabhjot Singh | Sports |
In a game of tantalizing turns between two former Olympic champion teams – India and Argentina – skipper Harmanpreet Singh pelted in a penalty corner goal in the 59th minute to help the former salvage a precious point in a pool B game.
India had beaten New Zealand 3-2 in the opener while for Argentina, it was its first point in two outings. Argentina had lost its opener to Australia by a solitary goal.
After Haryana girl Manu Bhaker stole the limelight on the second day, Punjab players turned to corner glory. While Sarabjot Singh of Punjab teamed up with Manu for the bronze shooting match, Harmanpreet Singh of Punjab helped India draw 1-1 with former Olympic champions Argentina.
Earlier, newly crowned bronze medallist Manu Bhaker and her colleague Sarabjot Singh gave a cheerful start to the day three proceedings by qualifying for the bronze medal in the 10m Air Pistol (Mixed Team) event. The Indian team had finished behind Turkey and Serbia.
While Indian shooters aggregated 580, Turkey topped the qualifying round with 582 followed by Serbia with 581. Indian team aggregated 580 and will take on Korea(579) in the bronze medal playoff.
If Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot manage to get better off the Korean team, it would be the second medal for Manu Bhaker, the first Indian female shooter to win an Olympic medal.
The India-Argentina game had attracted a substantial section of the Indian Diaspora in and around Paris. Not only the immigrants from the sub-continent but also in the audience was former Test cricketer and recently retired Chief Coach of the Indian team, Rahul Dravid, besides the Indian Olympic Association chief, Olympian PT Usha.
Since Cricket is being introduced in the 2028 Olympic Games, his presence was viewed with tremendous interest.
The International Hockey Federation chief, Tayyab Ikram, too, witnessed the pulsating game that saw supporters of the Indian team heaving a sigh of relief when Harmanpreet scored the match equaliser with a little more than a minute left for the end of the game. Tayyab Ikram was joined by his former colleagues, Leandro Negre, and Saif Ahmed of Egypt.
India came prepared for a win as it would have smoothened its passage to the knockout round. The South Americans, however, had different game plans. Their strategy was to earn as many penalty corners as possible without conceding many to their opponents.
Though the Argentines, winners of the 2016 Olympic games, had taken the lead in the 22nd minute through Lucas Martinez, it could not consolidate even after it earned a stroke in the 37th minute following a piercing flick taken by Maico Casella Schuth that caught Jarmanpreet Singh on the goal line on his body. The resultant flick taken by Maico himself was wide off the target to the great relief of experienced Indian custodian PR Sreejesh.
Desperate to get an equaliser, India did work out some good moves that were frustrated by the alert Argentine defence. At one stage, it looked like Argentina would hold to his first-half goal lead for its first win of the tournament. It was in the closing stages of the game, like the game against New Zealand on the other hand, that India built pressure.
A series of penalty corners in the 59th minute saw Harmanpreet succeed in breaking open the Argentine deep defence with a neat flick that got deflected into the net. The South Americans wanted a review of the decision. It, however, ended in disappointment for them as the third umpire also upheld the ground umpire’s judgment.
India will play Ireland in its third game tomorrow. A win would guarantee India a place in the next knockout round.
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Historic day for India at the Paris Olympics! ???????? Manu Bhaker wins bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol, becoming the first Indian woman to win an Olympic shooting medal. In hockey, Captain Harmanpreet Singh scored a late goal to secure a 1-1 draw against Argentina. Proud moment for our athletes! ???????? #Paris2024 #TeamIndia #Olympics
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