An inspired India began their Olympic hockey campaign with an emphatic 3-0 win over Argentina in their opening Group B encounter and broke the jinx that had been bedevilling them for a long time.
The eight-time champions owed a lot for the exhilarating performance to left winger Sameer Dad, who scored a brace of goals, and custodian Jude Menezes, who saved at least as many goals as his team scored.
Stalwart right winger Mukesh Kumar accounted for the remaining goal scored by his team. Dad Gavehindia the lead in the 25th minute. Following a stiff penalty-corner essay by full-back Dilip Tirkey which rose waist-high off Argentinian goalkeeper Pablo Noreira`s boot, slammed the ball with a reverse swing of his stick high into the far corner of the net.
The Indians increased the lead just before the breather when mercurial forward Dhanraj Pillay gave a pass to baljit Dhillon who sent it for Mukesh Kumar to slot in an angular shot past Moreira. India completed the rout ten minutes from the end when Dad hammered in a Dhillon cross from the right.
While India have a record of playing very well against even tough teams like Germany, they have always run into trouble against the Latin Americans and a jinx was broken today. In the Atlanta Games four years ago India went down 0-1 to Argentina which cost them a semifinal spot and then they finished a lowly eighth, their worst-ever showing in the Olympics.
Bureau Report