India aim for second successive bronze

Feroz Khan

BHUBANESWAR: Call it a twist of fate or just plain unlucky. Both India and Germany in the space of 24 hours have learnt that no matter how much you prepare for a game, in the absence of the cruel element called 'luck', things can go awry in no time. India, after a mixed round-robin stage, made a resounding comeback to dump tournament favourites Belgium in a heart-stopping quarterfinal of the Hockey World League Final. Next in line was Argentina whose only defeat of a successful Rio Olympics came at the hands of India. On Friday, in the first semi-final, India were forced to face two rivals - Argentina and rain. And they took more time to adapt to the latter. Consequently, they lost 0-1, a slim margin which they so spiritedly tried overcoming in the final quarter.