India snatched a dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Olympic hockey champion Argentina after Harmanpreet Singh kept the side afloat in regulation time with two goals in the action-packed first game of the FIH Pro League tie here on Saturday.
Harmanpreet gave India the lead in the 21st minute with a superbly executed penalty corner before a quick-fire double from Martin Ferreiro (28th, 30th) put Los Leones into a 2-1 lead at half-time.
Argentina held onto the lead until the dying seconds, when Harmanpreet (60th) stepped up to tie the scores with a penalty corner.
The draw guaranteed a point for each team, but India walked away with the bonus point, thanks to some brilliant goalkeeping by P.R. Sreejesh in the shoot-out.
Sreejesh denied Lucas Vila, Martin Ferreiro and Ignacio Ortiz before Dilpreet Singh sealed a 3-2 win in the one-on-ones with a cool finish against veteran Argentina goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi.
The result meant India consolidated its fifth position in the FIH Hockey Pro League standings with 12 points from seven matches. Argentina is sixth with 11 points from as many games.
Harmanpreet was declared Player-of-the-Match.
“I think the most important thing was that we never gave up,” Harmanpreet said. “We fought until the last minute, and that is why we got a result here.”
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