Despite being in the lead twice, India failed to press on and in the end succumbed to a 4-2 defeat against Argentina on Sunday for their second loss in two days at the FIH Champions Trophy in Bhubaneswar.
An attacking game of hockey saw six goals being scored, mostly in the last 30 minutes of the game, but the South Americans had the last laugh as Sardar Singh and his boys rued a number of missed chances, like they did in the 1-0 defeat to Germany in their lung opener on Saturday.
After 29 barren minutes, India managed to take lead through a cheeky deflection by Akashdeep Singh but Man-of-the-Match Lucas Villa scored in the same minute to lock it at 1-1 at half-time.
India once again went into the lead seven minutes into the third quarter when defender Gurjinder Singh's flick off a penalty corner rocketed past goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi into the net.
But like after conceding the first goal, Argentina responded swiftly once again to draw level at 2-2 through Juan Lopez within seconds after Gurjinder's strike.
The fourth quarter was slightly sluggish compared to the pace of the first three, and in the end it proved to be a case of last man standing as India conceded in the 49th minute (Agustin Mazzilli) and then 10 minutes later in the 59th (Joagin Menini) to seal it in their favour.
Mazzilli had positioned himself in front of the goal for a simple tap in off a cross from the left, but it was a lapse by Indian defence to leave him unmarked. And Menini benefited from a rebound after a slide from PR Sreejesh left him in awkward position to get up before the Argentine slotted the ball home.
But it was once again a story of missed opportunities for the Indians who had more shots at goal and circle penetrations until the last two winning goals by the South American team.
The loss leaves India languishing at the bottom of Pool B on a day that saw 29 goals scored in four matches after England mauled Pakistan 8-2, Australia played an entertaining 4-4 draw with Belgium and the Dutchmen beat Germany 4-1.
Monday is a rest day in the tournament, and the teams will play their last pool games on Tuesday, where India will take on Netherlands at 1930 IST.
The tournament format allows all teams to play the quarter-finals on December 11 irrespective of the results in the pool stage.
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