Hockey World Cup: India goes down fighting to Belgium
The Indian men's hockey team finished eighth in the World Cup after a narrow loss to Belgium in a penalty shootout. Despite a resilient performance and two equalizing goals from captain Harmanpreet Singh, India ultimately fell 4-3 in the shootout.
Why it matters
This result marks the conclusion of India's campaign in a major international tournament, highlighting both the team's competitive spirit and areas for tactical improvement.
India could only manage an eighth-place finish in the hockey World Cup after a 3-4 penalty shootout loss to Belgium.
India had fought back twice from a goal down to hold the co-host 3-3 in regulation time at the Belifus Arena here on Friday.
At 2-2, veteran midfielder Manpreet Singh was struck near his eye as he put his body on the line to get on the end of Hugo Labouchere’s close-range shot. A bloodied Manpreet was helped off the pitchto a round of applause from the home crowd. But even as the Indian team could recover from the horror injury, Belgium pounced on an error to score through Nicolas de Kerpel.
The goal was upheld despite India’s referral for a touch on the body in the build-up, which added to a frustratingly mixed afternoon for skipper Harmanpreet Singh.
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