New Delhi: Ramandeep Singh scored two field goals to guide India to a comfortable 4-2 win over Argentina on Thursday and set up a mouth-watering clash against arch-rivals Pakistan in the 9th-10th place classification match at the Junior Men’s Hockey World Cup here.
Although he was late to rise to the occasion, Ramandeep (4th minute, 31st) showed his scoring prowess by scoring two fantastic field goals.
Apart from Ramandeep, the drag-flick specialists Amit Rohidas (7th) and Gurjinder Singh (40th) were the other goal-getters for the hosts.
Argentina’s goals came from the sticks of Lucas Martinz in the 38th minute and Lautaro Diaz in the 69th minute.
India will now face neighbours Pakistan in the 9-10th place play-off match on Saturday.
Pakistan had defeated South Africa 4-0 in their 9-12th place classification match earlier in the day.
National coach Baljit Singh Saini refused to treat the high-profile fixture as a “special” encounter.
“India-Pakistan encounters may be special for spectators and media but not for us. We can’t treat it as a special match because if we do so there are chances of committing mistakes. We will take it as just another game,” Saini told reporters.
“But I must admit pressure would be there on the boys before the match.”
Argentina will play South Africa in the 11th-12th place classification game, also on Saturday.
Meanwhile, France will face Malaysia, while the Netherlands will lock horns against defending champions Germany in the semifinals on Friday.
Jean-Laurent Kierffer scored a brace as France stunned European champions Belgium 5-4 in a nail-biting quarterfinal match, while Malaysia beat Korea 2-1 in another last-eight match to register their place in the semifinals of the mega-event after a hiatus of 28 years.
Earlier in the day, the Netherlands eked out a hard-fought 3-2 win over New Zealand to progress to the last-four stage, and holders Germany edged past Australia 4-3 in the last quarterfinal. (PTI)