BHUBANESWAR: Harmanpreet Singh’s faulty pass proved costly and helped Belgium beat India 3-2 in the second leg of the FIH Pro Hockey League match at Kalinga Stadium on Sunday. It was a revenge of sorts for the world champions, who had lost 2-1 against India a day earlier.
The result also helped Belgium stay top of the pile with 14 points. A rejuvenated India are second with eight. This defeat may hurt, but they have done well in the championship so far, having beaten The Netherlands twice earlier.
This match was a topsy-turvy affair. Belgium were pressing and wasted little time in taking the lead. Skipper Briels Thomas won a penalty corner in the third minute and drag-flicker Alexander Hendrickx converted with a strike into the bottom right corner. The Indians were not sitting back. They kept looking for the equaliser and it came just eight seconds before the first quarter ended. A brilliant run saw Surender Kumar get past three Belgian defenders. He pushed it back to Vivek Prasad, who poked at it and beat goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch.
However, India failed to prevent the World No 1 from taking the lead again. Shortly into the second quarter, Gougnard Simon’s powerful cross from the right of the turf was deflected in by De Kerpel Nicolas. The match was 17 minutes old. It took the hosts less than a minute to restore parity. From a penalty corner, drag-flicker Vivek Prasad’s attempt was blocked by the cluster of defenders running in from the goalline. But the ball fell in front of Amit Rohidas, who smashed it into the far corner, to the delight of his teammates.
The match took a decisive turn in the 25th minute. Taking a free hit, Harmanpreet passed it straight to De Kerpel standing just outside the D area. He pushed it to Maxime Plennevaux, who slid in to put the ball in the back of the net. The Indians tried their best to equalise for a third time.
However, the Belgian defence stood firm and showed why they are a champions team. De Kerpel was adjudged Man of the Match.
“We played a nice match overall. It could have been 3-3, but today our defence was not up to that standard which we had displayed in our last few matches. We made some silly mistakes on the back of the lines which cost us,” said India’s chief coach Graham Reid.