India overcame Argentina 3-1, after leading 1-0 at the break, to end up seventh in the Olympic Games Hockey championship here today and improved on their eighth-place finish at Atlanta four years ago.
In the match to decide the 7-8 places, India took the lead in the 30th minute through Deepak Thakur. Crossing over with a lone-goal advantage, the Indians increased the lead in the 47th minute when Sukhbir Singh Gill found the target.
After Argentina reduced the margin by scoring in the 52nd minute through Jorge Lombi, veteran Dhanraj Pillay, playing his last Olympics, rounded off the tally in the 63rd to give some consolation to the team. India, who failed to make the semi-finals by allowing Poland to score a penultimate minute equaliser in their concluding group B league match, had beaten the South Americans 3-0 in their lung-opener.
Bureau Report