Argentina utilised the only penalty corner that came their way to perfection in the first semi-final of the eight-nation tournament at the Kalinga Stadium.
After a not-so-impressive pool campaign, India not only stunned world no.3 Belgium but all and sundry at the stadium with their spirited show in the quarterfinals.
Gurjant Singh (31st minute), Harmanpreet (34th) and Rupinder (46th) scored in the regulation time for India.
While postponing, the organisers had claimed that the move was needed to review the five seasons of the league.
Rizwan Khan -a resident of Subhash Nagar in west Delhi, was a student of Bachelor's in Arts Second Year at the Jamia Millia Islamia.
India, bronze medallist in 2015, finished last in Pool B after garnering just one point from one draw and two losses and will now take on the world No. 2 side in the knockout round on Wednesday.
Despite having the better share of chances in their final Pool B match against Germany, the hosts could not execute them and went down 0-2.
India, who drew 1-1 with Australia and lost 2-3 against England in their previous outings, thus finished at the bottom of Pool B table with just one point from three matches.
The FIH assurance comes despite India pulling out of the event initially.
With one draw and one loss, India is currently at the bottom in Pool B with one point. The pool is being led by the Germans who have four points from one win and a draw.
The coach said that the players first need to find out what went wrong and then address those loopholes.
The Indians were nowhere near to the level that they displayed in their first match against Australia.
India held world champions and title holders Australia to a 1-1 draw in their opening match of the Hockey World League Final and chief coach Sjoerd Marijne said he was happy but not "satisfied" with the team's overall performance.
Playing in front a partisan crowd at the floodlit Kalinga Stadium, India by far were the better side on display and outplayed Australia in terms of ball possession.
The HWL final will be the first real test for India's new chief coach Sjoerd Marijne, who took over just two months ago from the legendary Roelant Oltmans.
Rupinder said the two matches against Argentina and England has put the team in competition-mode.
Asian champions India are placed in a relatively easy but tricky Pool B alongside Pakistan, the last edition's bronze medallists England, Malaysia and Wales.
Besides England, other participating nations in India's pool are world no. 7 USA and minnows Ireland.
The women's team recently created history by winning the Asia Cup 2017 after beating China in the final.
The team went through the paces under the watchful eyes of chief coach Sjoerd Marijne as it started its preparations for the eight-nation tournament, starting on December 1 in Bhubaneswar.
Top News
Latest News
