India’s captain Harmanpreet Singh. File.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Captain Harmanpreet Singh struck a brace as India surprised Olympic champions Belgium 5-1 right here on June 2 after back-to-back defeats in their European leg of the the FIH Pro League.
Midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad gave India the lead in the second minute of the sport earlier than Harmanpreet (twentieth and thirtieth min) scored twice from penalty corners.
Amit Rohidas (twenty ninth) and Dilpreet Singh (sixtieth) have been the opposite Indian aim scorers.
William Ghislain (forty sixth) scored the lone aim for Belgium in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.
India, who had come to Europe as Pro League desk toppers, had misplaced the opening recreation of the European leg to Belgium 1-2 on May 26 earlier than happening to Great Britain 2-4 the subsequent day.
With redemption on their thoughts, the Indians bought off to a rollicking begin with a well-executed area aim in solely the second minute from begin which set the momentum for the sport. It was Gurjant Singh who arrange the aim for Vivek with a tremendous help from the left flank.
India constructed on this early success, displayed good management of the ball, and confirmed the precise temperament in their attacking construction.
They mounted stress on the Belgian defence when newcomer Sanjay compelled the skilled Emmanuel Stockbroekx to make an error whereas making area in the Belgium half. The infringement resulted in India being awarded their first penalty nook.
Though India couldn’t convert this chance, they have been profitable from one other PC in the twentieth minute when Harmanpreet picked up a superb injection from Abhishek earlier than sending a robust drag-flick to search out the underside nook of the board.
A 2-0 lead put the Indian facet in good stead, permitting them to play their pure recreation. They dominated the ball possession and continued to puncture the Belgian defence.
In the twenty ninth minute, Rajkumar Pal led the assault in the midfield, discovering Mandeep Singh on the precise flank. Not taking the shot himself, Mandeep made a shock move to Amit Rohidas who took a profitable shot on aim and put India in a snug 3-0 lead.
In the next minute, India prolonged the result in 4-0 after they gained one more PC. A great injection by Hardik Singh noticed Amit lead the PC variation however his flick was blocked by Belgian goalkeeper. However, the rebound was picked up by Harmanpreet Singh who broke no sweat in placing the ball previous Loic Van Doren.
Finding themselves on the backfoot with India taking a formidable lead at half-time, Belgium examined their opponent’s defence after they have been awarded back-to-back PCs in the beginning of the third quarter.
P R Sreejesh showcased some tremendous goalkeeping expertise and ultimately cleared the ball to security.
In the fourth quarter, Belgium lastly discovered a breakthrough when William Ghislan scored a tremendous area aim in the forty sixth minute.
Belgium’s late comeback did not dent India’s recreation. Determined to complete nicely, India caught to their construction and produced good attacking hockey in the dying minutes which resulted in Dilpreet Singh scoring India’s fifth aim in the sixtieth minute to make sure their first win in the away video games of FIH Hockey Pro League this season.
India play Great Britain once more on Saturday.
