Wavre (Belgium), August 28 (PTI) Captain Harmanpreet Singh’s last-gasp penalty-corner strike took the match into a shoot-out but India finished eighth at the FIH World Cup after losing 3-4 to co-hosts Belgium here on Friday.
World No. 2 Belgium were leading 3-2 until the final minute when India earned a penalty corner with just 26 seconds left on the clock. Harmanpreet made no mistake in converting it to force a shoot-out after the two sides were locked 3-3 in regulation time.
It was Harmanpreet’s eighth goal of the tournament.
In the shoot-out, Shilanand Lakra, Dilpreet Singh and Abhishek converted their attempts but that was not enough as Belgium prevailed 4-3.
Tom Boon, Arthur de Sloover, Alexander Hendrickx and Roman Duvekot scored for Belgium, while Victor Fourbert missed the target.
Abhishek had opened the scoring for India before Harmanpreet struck twice, while Duvekot, Hugo Labouchere and Nicolas de Kerpel scored in regulation time for Belgium.
The Indians, who were playing all their matches in the Netherlands, took the lead in front of a sizeable group of home supporters at the Belfius Hockey Arena amind cold winds but could not maintain their early momentum against the higher-ranked Belgians.
Abhishek put India ahead in the sixth minute, finding the net after his shot from inside the circle took a deflection off a Belgian defender’s stick.
Belgium gradually took control and drew level in the 22nd minute through Duvekot before Labouchere put them ahead a minute later with a powerful penalty-corner drag-flick.
India had a chance to restore parity soon after half-time and Harmanpreet did exactly that, converting a penalty corner in the 31st minute.
Belgium thought they had regained the lead shortly afterwards when Hendrickx found the net from a penalty corner, but India successfully referred the decision and the goal was disallowed.
The Indians came close to going ahead in the 40th minute when Harmanpreet took the ball from the left flank and passed it to Abhishek inside the D, but his shot hit a defender’s stick and went wide of the goalpost.
Belgium struck again in the 47th minute through de Kerpel to take a 3-2 lead.
India suffered another setback in the final quarter when Manpreet Singh was struck in the face by a Labuchere shot and fell groaning.
India’s most experienced player had to leave the field as the ball came at such a high speed that it appeared he had suffered a serious injury above the eye. He, however, returned for the shoot-out.
With time running out, India withdrew their goalkeeper in favour of an additional outfield player and threw everything into attack.
Their persistence paid off when they earned a penalty corner with 26 seconds remaining, and Harmanpreet sent his drag-flick into the net to keep India in the contest.
However, the Belgians held their nerve in the shoot-out to consign India to an eighth-place finish.
The Indian team, dreaming of winning a World Cup medal after 51 years, defeated Wales 3-1 and Pakistan 5-3 in the first round before losing to England 2-4.
In the second round, India failed to score a single point, conceding three goals in the final 19 minutes against the Netherlands in a 1-3 defeat. Argentina defeated them 5-3, ending their last remaining hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
Belgium, meanwhile, also fell short of expectations, having been knocked out of the semifinal race after 1-1 draws against Australia and Spain in the second round. PTI MJ APA APA
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