The Indian men’s hockey team confirmed character as they snatched a 4-3 win against hosts Belgium to finish an in any other case forgettable campaign on the FIH Hockey Pro League on a optimistic be aware on Sunday (June 22, 2025).
It was objectives by Sukhjeet Singh (21′, 35′), Amit Rohidas (36′) and Harmanpreet Singh (59′) that ensured India’s win, and ended their outing within the eighth place, 14 factors forward 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 accomplished their 100 worldwide caps.
Belgium have been fast to get off the blocks, urgent excessive and seeking to catch Indian defenders off guard. Their ways paid off early with Arthur de Sloover scoring a surprising objective to go one up within the match. He fired it into the highest proper nook of the publish, leaving no room for the Indian goalie to defend.
The objective actually dislodged India’s momentum, who till then confirmed glimpses of attacking intent with fast bursts of their variation.
The guests’ first actual alternative got here within the twentieth minute once they earned the primary penalty nook of the match and with skipper Harmanpreet again on the pitch, confidence was excessive within the Indian set-up.
It was a very good injection from Hardik, however the highly effective flick was well-blocked, resulting in a brisk counterattack by the Belgians. But Pathak, on the different finish, prevented a possible 2-0 lead with a effective save.
Only a minute later, India transformed a sensational penalty nook and this time it was a intelligent variation which noticed Sukhjeet step up and deflect the ball contained in the publish with precision. He solely needed to angle Harmanpreet’s flick, which comfortably beat the Belgian goalie. This was an vital equaliser which noticed India construct on their assault.
Nearing the top of the second quarter, Abhishek got here near scoring what would have been a stupendous objective however missed the goal by inches.
After the 10-minute half-time break, Belgium struck early via Thibeau Stockbroekx, who scored within the thirty fourth minute. But India responded virtually instantly with Sukhjeet pumping his second objective of the match.
It was an help from the midfield, to Abhishek just a bit outdoors the highest of the D. Though Abhishek missed holding on to the ball, Sukhjeet picked it up effectively to smash it into the goalpost. A minute later, Rohidas put India forward 3-2 when he scored from a PC within the thirty sixth minute.
There was loads of drama within the sport. Belgium earned a PC and made full use of the chance. This time, it was Hugo Labouchere placing his identify on the scoresheet with his maiden worldwide objective.
Seconds later, India discovered the again of the web after a little bit of a scramble contained in the D to carry on to the ball. It was finally Shamsher Singh who put the ball inside the web after a few makes an attempt..
However, a right away video referral by Belgium noticed the objective being disallowed. Going into the ultimate quarter on this high-octane contest, India began with a PC. With minutes left for the ultimate hooter, an vital video referral by India noticed them being awarded a penalty stroke. Though Sloover protested and finally was handed a yellow card, there was a transparent push from him, and Harmanpreet sealed the difficulty in his team’s favour to finish a run of seven successive losses within the European leg of the league.
“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; we narrowed down on the small errors we were making and rectified them today…There have been lots of learnings from here and we will bounce back next edition,” stated Sukhjeet, who was awarded the Player of the Match.
