Skipper Harmanpreet Singh’s last-gasp penalty-corner goal forced the contest into a shoot-out, but India finished eighth at the FIH World Cup after suffering a 3-4 loss to co-hosts Belgium in Wavre on Friday.
World No. 2 Belgium held a 3-2 lead until the final minute, when India won a PC with just 26 seconds remaining. Harmanpreet converted to level the scores at 3-3 and send the contest into a shoot-out.
It was Harmanpreet’s eighth goal of the tournament.
In the shoot-out, Shilanand Lakra, Dilpreet Singh and Abhishek converted their attempts, while Harmanpreet and Sukhjeet Singh missed, allowing Belgium to bag a 4-3 win.
Tom Boon, Arthur de Sloover, Alexander Hendrickx and Roman Duvekot scored for Belgium, while Victor Fourbert missed the target.
Abhishek put India ahead early, before Harmanpreet struck twice. Belgium responded through Duvekot, Hugo Labouchere and Nicolas de Kerpel, with all five goals coming in regulation time.
The Indians, who had played all their games in the Netherlands, took the lead in front of a sizeable contingent of home supporters at the Belfius Hockey Arena despite the chilly conditions.
But India were unable to sustain 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 took control and drew level in the 22nd minute through Duvekot before Labouchere put them ahead a minute later with a powerful PC drag-flick.
India had an opportunity to restore parity soon after half-time and Harmanpreet did that, converting a PC in the 31st minute.
Belgium thought they had regained the lead afterwards when Hendrickx found the net from a PC, but India referred the decision and the goal was disallowed.
India came close to retaking the lead in the 40th minute when Harmanpreet collected the ball on the left flank before finding Abhishek inside the D. But Abhishek’s effort struck a defender’s stick and deflected wide of the post.
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 was forced off the field after being struck by the ball at high speed, with the blow appearing to cause a serious injury above his eye. But Manpreet 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 PC with 26 seconds remaining and Harmanpreet sent his drag-flick into the net to keep India in the contest.
But the Belgians held their nerve in the shoot-out to consign India to an eighth-place finish.
India, hoping to end a 51-year wait for an FIH Hockey World Cup medal, started their campaign with victories over Wales (3-1) and Pakistan (5-3) before suffering a 2-4 loss to England in the first round.
In the second round, India failed to collect a single point, going down 1-3 to the Netherlands after conceding three goals in the final 19 minutes. A 3-5 loss to Argentina then ended their hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
Belgium also couldn’t live up to expectations, with 1-1 draws against Australia and Spain in the second round ending their hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
(With PTI Inputs)
