Johor Bahru: A fighting India rode on Ramandeep Singh's brace to eke out a come-from-behind 3-2 triumph over Argentina and register their second consecutive win in the Sultan of Johor Cup Under-21 hockey tournament, here Monday.
India trailed for a large part of the match but Ramandeep (60th, 62nd) found his scoring touch when it mattered the most and netted two field goals in final 10 minutes to turn the game in his side's favour. Vice-captain Affan Yousuf (23rd) was the other goal-getter for India, while Isidoro Carlos Ibarra (16th, 42nd) scored both the goals for the mighty Argentines.
With two wins from as many games, India have consolidated their position in the league standings alongside arch-rivals Pakistan on six points apiece. India had defeated England 2-1 in their tournament-opener yesterday.
Argentina, on the other hand, slumped to their second straight defeat after having lost 2-4 to hosts Malaysia Sunday. Despite the win, it was a poor performance from the Indians who seemed lost in the midfield and lacked firepower and sting upfront.
Argentina drew the first blood in the 16th minute when Ibarra converted a penalty corner with precision that beat Indian custodian Harlot Singh all ends up. But the South American side's joy was shortlived as India drew parity seven minutes later when Affan Yusof scored with a reverse hit after some slick stickwork in the semi-circle.
Argentina restored their lead seven minutes into the second half from a penalty stroke which was awarded after Ibarra's flick from the Pan American champion's second penalty corner hit Indian skipper Manpreet Singh on the foot.
Ibarra stepped up to take the stroke and made no mistake from the spot to hand Argentina a 2-1 lead. Thereafter, the Indians toiled hard for goals but their fowardline continued to disappoint the side. Luck finally smiled on the Indians in the 60th minute when Ramandeep scored the equaliser from a goal-mouth melee with the ball bouncing off the Argentina keeper's pads into the net.
And two minutes later, Ramdeep was once again in the thick of things as he cleverly deflected in at the far post to score the winner for India. After a rest day, India will play arch-rivals Pakistan in their next round-robin match on Wednesday.
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