Indian Men's Hockey Team showed character as they snatched a heart-winning 4-3 win against hosts Belgium to end their campaign at the FIH Hockey Pro League (Men) 2024-25 here in Antwerp on Sunday.
It was goals by Sukhjeet Singh (21', 35'), Amit Rohidas (36') and Harmanpreet Singh (59') that ensured India's win, and ended their outing in the eight place, 14 points ahead of Ireland. For Belgium, Arthur de Sloover (8'), Thibeau Stockbroekx (34') and Hugo Labouchere (41') scored.
It was a memorable outing for Sukhjeet and Dilpreet Singh who completed their 100 international caps.Belgium was quick to get off the blocks, pressing high and looking to catch Indian defenders off guard.
Their tactics paid off early with Arthur de Sloover scoring a stunning goal to go one up in the match. He fired it into the top right corner of the post, leaving no room for the Indian goalie to defend.
The goal certainly dislodged India's momentum, who until then showed glimpses of attacking intent with quick bursts in their variation. India's first real opportunity came in the 20th minute when they earned the first PC of the match and with Skipper Harmanpreet Singh back on the pitch today, confidence was high in the Indian set-up.
A good injection from Hardik, but the powerful flick was well-blocked leading into a quickfire counter attack by the Belgians. But Pathak, at the other end, prevented a potential 2-0 lead with a fine save.
Only a minute later, India converted a sensational PC and this time it was a clever variation which saw Sukhjeet step up and deflect the ball into the post with precision. He only had to angle Harmanpreet's flick which comfortably beat the Belgian goalie.
This was an important equaliser which saw India build on their attack. Nearing the end of the second quarter, Abhishek came close to scoring what would have been a stupendous goal but missed the margin by inches.
After the ten-minute half-time break, Belgium struck early through Thibeau Stockbroekx who scored in the 34th minute. But India responded almost immediately with Sukhjeet pumping his second goal of the match.
It was an assist from the midfield, to Abhishek just a little outside the top of the D. Though Abhishek missed holding on to the ball, Sukhjeet picked it up efficiently to smash it into the goalpost. A minute later, Amit Rohidas put India ahead by 3-2 when he scored from a PC in the 36th minute.
There was plenty of drama coming up in the game, keeping the hockey buffs on the edge of their seats. Belgium earned a PC and made complete use of the opportunity. This time, it was Hugo Labouchere putting his name on the scoresheet, scoring his maiden international goal making it an evenly-fought contest between India and Belgium.
Seconds later, India found the back of the net after a bit of a scramble inside the D to hold on to the ball. It was eventually Shamsher Singh who put the ball inside the net after a couple of attempts. However, an immediate video referral by Belgium saw the goal being disallowed.
Going into the final quarter in this high-octane encounter, India started with a PC. But was narrowly missed as the score continued to read 3-3. The contest remained pulsating with India being relentless in their pursuit for that one elusive win in their otherwise disappointing outing in terms of results in the European leg of Pro League.
With minutes left for the final hooter, an important video referral by India saw them being awarded a penalty stroke. Though Sloover protested, and eventually was handed the yellow card, there was a clear push from him and it was only a matter of Harmanpreet clearing the goal and putting India ahead by 4-3 and finally ending their campaign with a win.
"We made a good comeback today. We had the confidence in us in every game we played. There was a lot of room for improvement in how we played today, narrowed down on the small errors we were making and rectified them today.
There has been lots of learnings from here and we will bounce back next edition," expressed Sukhjeet Singh, who was awarded the Player of the Match.