With this victory, the national team is set to book a place in the Quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics.

The air in the podium was in favour of India when Manpreet Singh and his men swiftly attacked in the match. Team players Varun Kumar, Vivek Sagar Prasad and Harmanpreet Singh scored goals for India in 43rd, 58th and 59th minutes respectively. While for Argentina Maico Casella hit a goal in the 48th minute.

Although India secured two penalty strokes in a row in the 41st minute but was unable to convert them. Speedily enough, Argentina protested with Matias Rey, who returned to the field after a five-minute suspension, going toe-to-toe with PR Sreejesh. But the Indian goalkeeper averted the attack with the appearance of Varun Kumar, who twitched the ball away. 

Till now India has played four matches and is at the second position with nine points, Australia being at the number one position with 12 points, followed by Spain (4 points), New Zealand (4 points), Argentina (4 points) and Japan (1 point). For every win, each team is awarded three points. The top four teams from each group will play in the quarter-finals. 

India will face host Japan on Friday. This will be the final group match for the national team. 

The post Tokyo Olympics | India vs Argentina | Another victory by 3-1 first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.

Recalling the beginning of her daughter’s journey, Savitri Devi shared that to save her daughter from the toxic environment of the house, she enrolled her in Haryana Hockey Academy, Sonepat. Now 13 years later, she feels proud of taking the right decision at the right time.

“My husband would get drunk, and become abusive and violent. Whenever he came home, my daughter used to shut her eyes, close both her ears with her fingers and hide behind me. That was no way to live. The hockey ground felt safer,” she added.

Goyal used to work with her mother at a cycle factory to feed the family of five. The journey from earning a meagre Rs. 2000 a month, for straightening the spokes, to the national team, Neha is an inspiration to many aspiring sportswomen.

It was her coach Pritam Siwach, an Arjuna awardee and a member of India’s 2002 CWG gold medal-winning women’s team, who runs a hockey academy in Sonepat, Haryana, who saw the 11-year-old Neha lingering near the ground every day. She perceived the stamina of the little girl and gave her a skipping rope. Ms Goyal impressed her and in return, Siwach promised her two proper meals daily if she would play. 

To conceive her parents for Hockey, Siwach went her home. Neha was embarrassed to invite her as the family was living in a tiny house, after 10 steps you reach the wall, Siwach recalls. 

Neha often remembers the gone days when her jobless father used to come home all drunk and things getting out of control.  

Despite her struggling childhood, her teammates find her one of the happy-go-lucky players in the team. With a big smile on her face, Neha is always optimistic no matter how bad the situation is, they agreed in unison.  

The post From cycle factory to team India, midfielder Neha Goyal has an inspiring story to tell first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.