Finally, a victory.
It was against Ireland back in February that India last earned an outright win. Since then, there have been a string of defeats against Australia followed by a few draws. On Sunday, in their final match at Antwerp, India beat Argentina 5-4 to record their fourth win of this season's Pro League. It became a bit nervy in the end, Argentina making it 4-5 from 2-5 down, but India held on to clinch a deserving victory. Harmanpreet Singh scored a hat trick -- two penalty stroke goals and a penalty conversion while the other two goals were scored by Araijeet Singh Hundal and Gurjant Singh.
A much-needed win
It was getting a bit frustrating. While India were clearly second best in Australia, they had been putting out credible performances in the recent Pro League albeit without positive results. Except for the 1-4 loss against Belgium, India were playing better hockey on the field. In their previous matches, they led against Argentina and Belgium only to concede at the end and take the match to a penalty shootout.
Against Argentina on Sunday, India were clearly the best side. Even though their opponent scored the opening goal and then equalised to make it 2-2, India kept dominating the possession and their relentless attacks resulted in multiple goal-scoring chances. From 2-2, India made it 5-2 after three back-to-back goals from their captain Harmanpreet. It was in the last five minutes that India lost a bit of their concentration to concede but they had enough cushion in goals to see out the game.
Craig Fulton will be relieved to see a good performance finally getting the deserved result.
Araijeet stands tall
Before this leg, the pressure was on India's forwards to deliver as they had a tough Australian tour where they couldn't make any impact. Even then, when given a chance, Araijeet impressed with his ball-striking and physicality inside the D. Now with his performances in the last four matches, the youngster seems to have more or less confirmed his spot in the team that will travel to Paris.
The Indian hockey team takes the lead with a stunning strike by Hundal Araijeet Singh! ����#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #FIHProLeague #IndiaMensTeam
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.@FIH_Hockey @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @IndiaSports @Media_SAI @Limca_Official @CocaCola_Ind pic.twitter.com/OdGxUok0we- Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) May 26, 2024
Against Argentina on Sunday, he made it 1-1 with a thumping finish that showed all his best attributes. He was at the right spot to receive the pass, controlled the ball under pressure from a defender and made just enough space to execute the shot. As soon as he turned, he fired in the hit without wasting time and beat the goalkeeper through his legs. This was his second goal in two matches, having already scored against Belgium -- a simple tap in but once again his positioning in the circle was the key factor.
Araijeet's threat remained constant throughout the match on Sunday. His movement just outside and inside the circle caused all sorts of trouble as Argentina players couldn't mark him. After India went 4-2 up, Araijeet won the foul that led to India's second penalty stroke. It came from a superbly controlled ball just in front of the goalkeeper, which forced the defender next to him to go hard on his tackle.
What was also impressive to see was his chemistry with other Indian forwards. Abhishek and Gurjant Singh have also been good going forward. With these three on the field, India looked more dynamic and threatening. At the moment, Araijeet, Abhishek and Gurjant seem to be India's best attacking trio and the coach should look to maximise their time together on the field.
What's next?
India will now travel to London to play the remaining Pro League matches. They will be up against the likes of Great Britain and world champion Germany, facing them twice in a span of 10 days.
Schedule
Germany vs India on June 1 at 2.30 pm IST
Great Britain vs India on June 2 at 4.45 pm IST
India vs Germany on June 8 at 9.45 pm IST
Great Britain vs India on June 9 at 7 pm IST
India's position on points table
India have played 12 matches so far in the Pro League season with four more to go. They sit second on the table behind the Netherlands with 21 points to their name. The Dutch, who are also the defending champions, are on 26 points and have four more matches to play.
Realistically, India will look to finish the season in the top three spots. Becoming champions would be tough but not impossible. There's a chance if they could win at least three out of the remaining four matches. However, other top teams like Australia, Germany and Great Britain still have a lot of matches to play in the season.