Ipoh: The young Indian team went down fighting against the Olympic champions Argentina in its rain-hit opening match of the 27th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup on Saturday.
Drag flick expert Gonzalo Peillat scored hat-trick to drive home three points from the first match.
India started well, attacking their opponents and creating shots at goal. However, Argentina took lead in the 13th minute through a penalty corner. The lead was doubled eleven minutes later.
India pulled both back, courtesy Odia lad Amit Rohidas, who was the only takeaway for India in the match. Within a minute of the equalizer, Argentina took the lead once again off penalty corner.
Rain stopped play for almost 30 minutes after the match was played for merely four minutes in the last quarter.
Argentina earned a total of seven penalty corner in the match, while India got four.
India will next play England tomorrow.
