Rourkela: Indian men’s hockey might have had its nemesis in Australia through the ages, but the team lived through a fresh 60-minute nightmare at the Birsa Munda Stadium on Thursday, suffering an 8- 0 humiliation against Argentina in its second FIH Pro League outing. This was India’s joint-biggest defeat in international competitions, equalling identical losses to the Netherlands (1985) and Australia (2010). It was also India’s biggest ever loss to Argentina.
In a game that was equal parts surreal and ridiculous, India appeared to be in a trance and could barely put stick to ball even as the Argentines turned up the heat on the field. The start was fairly normal, but the Indians looked like they were suffering from a collective mental and physical shutdown soon after. The second half was a contrast, not so much in India’s performance as in Argentina being seemingly content with the scoreline and pulling back on the intensity. Agencies
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