Seven matches, seven defeats for the Indian men’s hockey team.
After a five-day break, India were hoping to break their losing streak but home side Belgium beat them 6-3 in Antwerp on Saturday.
Belgium started the match strongly and they scored inside 20 seconds thanks to Arthun van Doren who reacted quickly to a penalty corner rebound and beat goalkeeper Suraj Karkera.
The first half belonged to Belgium as India struggled to match their opponent’s intensity. Alexander Hendrickx doubled their lead just before the half-time from a powerful penalty corner conversion.
After the break, India improved on the ball. They started finding the right passes and won their duels to put pressure on their opponents. Dilpreet Singh reduced the deficit in the 36th minute after he converted a PC rebound and then two minutes later, Mandeep Singh got a vital touch which deflected off a Belgian stick and made the scoreline 2-2.
Both teams started the final quarter on equal terms but the home side were much better on the ball. Roman Duvekot, Thibeau Stockbroekx and van Doren scored quickly to make it 5-3.
Amit Rohidas converted his PC chance but then a mistake by Jarmanpreet Singh resulted in the sixth goal from Tom Boon as India were playing without their goalkeeper.
India have one more match left in this leg and it’s against the same opponents on Sunday. Pressure is on the team and their head coach Craig Fulton who would want to end their campaign with at least one win.
