- Argentina, ranked second in the world, defeated India 1-4 on Tuesday in the FIH Women's Pro League
- India has now lost the tournament three times in a row
- In the 30th minute, Deepika scored India's lone goal from a penalty corner
India's tough spurt in the FIH Women's Pro League continued on Tuesday when the Salima Tete-coached team suffered a third straight loss, falling 1-4 to World No. 2 Argentina.
Deepika was India's solitary goal scorer, leveling the scores with a penalty corner conversion in the 30th minute. Victoria Falasco from Argentina got the opening goal in the 29th minute, and Agustina Gorzelany scored a hat-trick through goals in the 40th, 54th, and 59th minutes.
India began the game on a high note, controlling the first quarter of the game and opening up a number of scoring opportunities. Captain Salima Tete was close to leveling the scores but missed an open chance inside the goalmouth. Another promising attack was started in the 18th minute by Navneet Kaur, who found Lalremsiami and Bajeet Kaur, but the shot was squandered.
Though displaying resilience after consecutive losses to Australia, India lost their momentum towards the mid-point of the second quarter. Feeling the dip in intensity, Argentina increased the pressure. Falasco capitalized on an opening to place Argentina ahead, but Deepika took the response immediately before half-time with a well-taken penalty corner.
In the third period, India once again started well but slowly lost their grip. Argentina capitalized on their chances, with Gorzelany giving them the lead through a penalty stroke in the 40th minute. While India's defence remained solid on consecutive penalty corners in the 48th minute, the last quarter witnessed Gorzelany find the net twice more to give Argentina a decisive victory.
Coach Harendra Singh had wished for an even contest, but Argentina's better execution at crucial moments told the difference.
