India run into Lombi race ka ghoda

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">AMSTELVEEN: A third defeat in four matches means India is almost certainly out of the medals race. The 2-4 defeat at the hands of Argentina was rather disappointing. India now has only one match left, that against Pakistan on Friday. A win there would only be a consolation.<br /><br />Overall India created a few chances, but missed most of them and that is not a luxury anybody can afford at this level.I will hold a whole lot of players guilty for that, including Prabhjot Singh, Gagan Ajit and Dhanraj Pillay. The Indians had greater possession of the ball and yet did not score more.<br /><br />I must also mention that the umpiring, especially in the second half, was rather poor. India were denied what I thought was a good enough goal. There seemed to be no reason to disallow it. Maybe we will get to know about that sometime later. Also Tim Pullman, the Australian umpire, gave some other decisions which were baffling and almost all of them affected India. <br /><br />Jorge Lombi with two penalty corner conversions gave the Argentines a solid match and with two wins in three matches — they lost 5-6 to Pakistan — they could well be in with a medal chance in only their second Champions Trophy appearance.<br /><br />Considering how important this game was for India, for the first 20 minutes there were simply not in the picture. In a game, where virtually every second counts, 20 minutes is too big a chunk of time to take to settle down into the game. It is hard to comprehend how the team did not understand the value of time in the match. It was as is they were just trying to warm-up. It is plain and simple suicide at this level.<br /><br />On top of that Argentina are no longer a team that can be brushed aside. In fact right now, they are one of the very few teams who have qualified for Olympics. <br /><br />They are coming straight from the Pan American Games and are still showing so much energy. Playing big events is not only about supreme fitness but also about mental strength and rising to the occasion. There are times, when top players need to push themselves to the limit and produce performances that make the difference in a match, and probably the tournament.<br /><br />I was also disappointed with the team, in that senior players like Dhanraj Pillay took so much time to bring about the substitution. Gaganajit Singh stood on the line waiting to go inside for almost three minutes, as Pillay twice signalled that he wanted to continue. Gagan was holding the Card No. 9 and waiting. Obviously the coach wanted to send in a fresh player and give Pillay some rest.<br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Australia blast Germany </span><br /><br />In the first match on Wednesday, Australia showed that they are now in full flow. Their only hiccup has been against hosts, Netherlands. Otherwise, they showed great heart in coming back against Pakistan on the opening day to draw. Then both against India (4-1) and Germany (6-1) they were overwhelming. While Germany is rather inexperienced, the same cannot be said about India. Grant Schubert has shown what an asset he is for the team with seven goals in four matches and is on his way to becoming the top scorer of the tournament. <br /><br />So, I would say that as of now, three teams look strong contenders for the title and they are Netherlands, Pakistan and Australia. <br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Pakistan hold Holland</span><br /><br />Late last night the Holland-Pakistan provided one of the most exciting contests of the ongoing Champions Trophy. It was extremely fast and attacking hockey. <br /><br />The initial stages of the match belonged to Holland, during which they scored through Teun de Nooijer after four minutes. But before the first half ended Pakistan applied pressure and levelled matters through a Sohail Abbas penalty corner. <br />In the second half, it was even closer and then Holland struck through a Taeke Taekema penalty corner flick. But before Holland could consolidate their lead Pakistan equalised with a stunning individual effort from Kashif Jawad. That made it 2-2 and that’s how the game ended. </div> </div>