India’s campaign at the FIH Men’s World Cup came to an end on Monday following a 3-5 defeat against Argentina at the Wagener Stadium.
Facing a strict requirement to win by at least two clear goals to stay in contention, the Indian men’s hockey team instead struggled defensively, conceding two goals in the opening ten minutes. Joaquin Toscani opened the scoring for Argentina within the first minute, followed shortly by a penalty corner dragflick from Nicolas Della Torre. Though Sukhjeet Singh cut the deficit to 2-1 in the tenth minute, a double from Argentina’s Tomas Domene—including a converted penalty stroke—extended the advantage to 4-1.
Sukhjeet Singh added a second goal for India alongside a penalty stroke conversion from Hardik Singh, but the late push was not enough to overturn the deficit. Argentina also added to their tally with a goal from Lucas Toscani to seal the 5-3 win.
Following the loss, India will move on to play Belgium in the seventh-eighth place classification match. Argentina elevated their point total to six in the second round, leaving their semifinal hopes dependent on the outcome of the remaining second-round fixture between England and the Netherlands.
