Hockey: India thrash Argentina 3-0; rises to fourth place in FIH Pro League

After a thrilling first match where they beat Olympic Champions in a penalty shootout, 3-2, the Indians dominated the second match right from the start. Three different players – Harmanpreet Singh (11^th minute), Lalit Upadhyay (25^th min) and Mandeep Singh (58^th minute), found the back of the net for India in a one-sided encounter.

If Harmanpreet scored via a penalty corner, Upadhyay displayed some quick reflexes in the second quarter as he put the ball in the net after it was deflected off a save by the Argentinian goal-keeper Juan Vivaldi. The third goal for India came in the dying minutes of the game when Mandeep found the net via a close range backhand effort.

While the early goals certainly helped India maintain control over the play throughout the match, it was India custodian Krishan Bahadur Pathak's two saves to deny Martin Ferreiro which kept India in the contest much before Harmanpreet opened the scoring.

With this win, India currently has a total of 15 points in 8 matches and sits pretty at the fourth spot in the FIH Pro League, one point ahead of Australia who have played the same number of games.