The Indian men’s hockey team squandered a one-goal lead to go down 1-3 against Belgium in the quarterfinals at the Rio Olympics yesterday.
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Having topped Pool A, Belgium was the favourite to win the encounter and it played like a champion dominating the proceedings for most part of the game barring a few minutes in the second quarter after India took the lead late in the first quarter.
Akashdeep Singh deflected from a close angle but Belgium hit back as Sebastian Dockier equalised in the 34th minute.
It not only resulted in his suspension for five minutes but also led to his team giving away another short corner to the Candians from which they scored the equaliser.
The Kookaburras were the most feared team in the field, and not just for taking the Champions Trophy and Sultan Azlan Shah Cup this year. The Dutch had the first real scoring opportunity when Hertzberger diagonal ball from the right 25 yard area created twin chances but Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, rooted on his line, was up to the task on both occasion. If he is ruled out, coach Roelant Oltmans will need to re-strategise his incision on the right wing.
That was the kind of effort that Sreejesh P.R.’s men needed if they were to realise their Olympic dream of entering the semi-finals – and have a shot at a medal – for the first time since 1980.
Belgium began the second half with a series of attacks and kept up the pressure on the Indian defence. “We have been talking to the players to play with composure”, Sreejesh said.
Argentina’s Los Leones battled their way past Spain to secure their place in the final four, where they will go head-to-head with reigning Olympic champions Germany – who produced a staggering fight-back from 2-0 down to defeat New Zealand – for a place in the gold medal match. “When you score a goal you should not be overexcited and celebrate just stick to your structure and wait for the next opportunity”, he said.
Hockey in Belgium is the sixth most popular sport, well one can say the third most prevalent team sport after football and basketball.
As the game opened, both the teams went after each other aggressively and Belgium’s quick and attacking play kept the Indians guarded.
“It’s nice to know we’ve solidified our quarterfinal spot”, Bam said. Harmanpreet Singh’s lethargic flick was saved by goalkeeper Carter but the rebound reached Akashdeep, who slammed the ball in with a backhand to make it 1-0.
Sreejesh pulled off a blinder of a save but Belgium equalised seconds later.
Belgum then further confirmed their strong position in the game when Boon scored a field goal from the top of the circle to put his side comfortably ahead. “We showed that again today, and we will do that a couple more times”. “Four years of dreams and hard work ended with one bad match”, said Sreejesh, who had a decent tournament overall.
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But India’s joy was shotlived as seconds later Tupper equalised for Canada, converting their first penalty corner.
