India’s men’s hockey team ended its World Cup campaign with a defeat against Belgium in the seventh-place match. The contest was level at 3-3 at the end of regulation time, before Belgium won the penalty shootout 4-3 to finish seventh and leave India in eighth place.
India started the match positively and applied pressure on Belgium in the opening minutes. In the sixth minute, Abhishek scored to give India a 1-0 lead.
India also faced a setback when captain Harmanpreet Singh was shown a yellow card for having more players on the field than permitted and had to spend some time off the pitch.
Belgium earned several penalty corners in the first quarter, but India’s defence prevented them from converting their opportunities. India maintained a b defensive structure during the opening phase of the first half.
Belgium made a b comeback in the second quarter by scoring two goals in quick succession. Roman Duvekot scored in the 22nd minute to make it 1-1, before Hugo Labouchere converted a penalty corner in the 23rd minute to put Belgium 2-1 ahead.
India came under pressure after conceding twice but continued its efforts to return to the contest.
At the start of the third quarter, India captain Harmanpreet Singh scored to make it 2-2.
Belgium regained the lead in the final quarter by scoring to make it 3-2. With India facing the prospect of defeat in regulation time, Harmanpreet produced another equaliser in the closing stages.
With around 20 seconds remaining, India earned a penalty corner, which Harmanpreet converted to make the score 3-3 and send the match into a penalty shootout.
India made a positive start to the penalty shootout, with Shilanand, Dilpreet and Abhishek converting their opening attempts.
However, India failed to score from its final two attempts, with Harmanpreet Singh and Sukhjeet Singh unable to convert. Belgium scored four times in the shootout to secure a 4-3 victory.
The result meant India finished eighth in the World Cup.
India entered the tournament hoping to win a World Cup medal after a long gap. In the opening stage, the team defeated Wales 3-1 and Pakistan 5-3, but lost 2-4 to England.
In the second round, India lost 1-3 to the Netherlands and 3-5 to Argentina. The consecutive defeats ended India’s hopes of reaching the semifinals and winning a medal.
