We lost due to fatigue, says Ramandeep

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Sydney: Argentina and Poland produced the most entertaining game of the Olympic men's hockey tournament to date on Thursday, sharing the spoils in a 5-5 draw in Pool 'B'.

Argentine striker Jorge Lombi found the net four times, making him the tournament's leading goalscorer with five. He is one ahead of Piotr Mikula, who grabbed two as Poland stormed back from 1-3 down early in the second half to take a 4-3 lead with 10 minutes to play.

But Lombi drove home his fourth goal from a penalty corner in the 62nd minute to make it 4-4 and the drama was not over. Argentina went ahead 5-4 through Santiago Capurro in the 65th minute, before Poland squared things up again a minute later with Rafal Grotowski's bullet-like drive from the top of the circle.

Grotowski said, "The whole team is incredibly happy to be playing in the Olympics. The crowd support has been a revelation."

In other Pool 'B' action, Indian captain Ramandeep Singh Grewal said fatigue had been a major factor in his side's 0-2 loss to South Korea. "Our forwards were very good in the game against Australia on Tuesday night, but they did not have long to recover," Grewal said.

"It was a very quick game against the Australians, and we were certainly feeling some tiredness in this game. South Korea are very quick on the ball and played man-to-man hockey."

The Koreans are relative newcomers to the international scene, but are regarded as one of the quickest and most athletic sides in the world.They finished fifth in Atlanta and have taken silver and bronze at the last two Champions Trophy tournaments.

The win took them to the top of Pool 'B' with five points, one clear of Australia, India and Poland. Argentina appear out of semi-final contention on two points. Spain are last on one.



(c) Reuters Limited.