‘Inconsistent’ India go down to Belgium in HWL semis

After edging out the fancied Great Britain in the quarter-final, India went into the semi-final against World No. 7 Belgium in search of revenge for the 0-4 defeat they suffered in the FIH Semi-finals last year. The Red Lions had a better head-to-head record than the hosts by winning three of the last five matches between the two teams.

Roelant Oltmans kept faith with the team and the 4-3-3 formation that had worked against Great Britain.

Belgium, who ousted Argentina 2-1 to enter the semi-finals, also used the same 4-3-3 formation as their opponents with Tom Boon, Florent van Aubel and Thomas Briels as the forwards.

Belgium made a brilliant start to the match by going ahead within the first five minutes of the match. Cedric Charlier’s reverse hit found its way into the goal, going between the legs of the ever-reliable PR Sreejesh, to give the Belgians the lead. The Red Lions dominated the midfield for the majority of the first quarter to keep the Indian defence under pressure. After a poor effort by conceding the first goal, Sreejesh regained his best once again by making a couple of saves to deny the Belgians.

SV Sunil started the second quarter with a burst down the right to give a pass to Akashdeep in the middle. However, the pass agonisingly missed the forward as India rued their luck. The Belgians denied India space by closing down the midfield as India pushed forward in search of the equalizer. With India attacking for the majority of the quarter, the Red Lions preferred a 'sit back and defend' policy with no mentionable attack in the second fifteen minutes.

The first five minutes of the second half was a see-saw battle, with both teams enjoying circle penetrations with no result. SV Sunil produced another burst to provide Akashdeep Singh with a glorious chance. However, the Indian forward sent the ball over the goal as India missed another opportunity. India’s continuous attacks suffered a jolt in the 41st minute with Talwinder Singh receiving a yellow card for an illegitimate tackle.

India started the last fifteen minutes of the match with Manpreet Singh’s aerial ball finding Akashdep in the shooting circle. However, the forward’s inventive effort went wide of the goal. India got a great opportunity in the 54th minute after Belgium went down to ten men as Tanguy Cosyns received a yellow card.

With time running out, India replaced PR Sreejesh with an outfield player to go for the goal. It almost worked as SV Sunil found himself with a glorious chance in front of the goal. However, his shot went straight at the Belgian goalkeeper as another chance went begging. India went for a referral in search of a penalty corner, but the decision went against the hosts and with it India’s hope for a final spot.

India will now take on Netherlands in the fight for the third place on Sunday. Netherlands had beaten India 3-1 in the group stages earlier .