India conceded a golden goal to allow Spain notch up a 2-1 vicotry in the bronze medal match of the eight-nation under-21 hockey tournament in Monchengladbach, Germany [Images], on Sunday.
In the tightly-fought match, Deewakar Ram converted a penalty corner in the 29th minute to give India the lead. But, Pardos capitalised on a penalty stroke in the 33rd minute to draw parity.
As the first half of extra time drew to a close, India gave away a penalty corner which the Spaniards converted to finish third. They also avenged their defeat to India at the group stage.
The Indians paid heavily for their failure to make the most of the two penalty corners they got in the second half. However, their defence and goalkeeper Sreejesh minimised the damage by blocking Spanish forays on several occasions.
Spain showed better ball possesion and attack than the Indians and maintained pressure on the opposition.
India, who had won all their three group matches, had gone down to Spain 3-4 in the semi-final on Saturday.
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