FIH Hockey Pro League: India return in style by thrashing Olympic champions Belgium 5-1

The Indian men’s hockey team registered a resounding 5-1 win against defending Olympic champions Belgium in their second match of the ongoing FIH Hockey Pro League at the Lee Valley Stadium in London on Friday. India captain Harmanpreet Singh scored twice (20′, 30′), while Vivek Sagar Prasad (2′), Amit Rohidas (29′) and Dilpreet Singh (60′) scored once each to take the team to a 1. Helped in avenging the -2 defeat. Their previous match against Belgium last week. With redemption on their mind, the Indian team got off to a great start with a well-executed field goal in only the second minute of the game, which set the pace for the game. Gurjant Singh scored for Vivek with a good assist from the left flank.

Building on this early success, India displayed good ball control and the right temperament in their attacking formation. They put pressure on the Belgian defense when newcomer Sanjay forced the experienced Emmanuel Stockbrokes into a mistake while creating space in the Belgian half. The violation resulted in India being awarded its first PC.

India’s men upset Belgium in their #FIHProLeague The encounter ended with an emphatic 5-1 victory in London. Meanwhile, hosts Great Britain earned a vital 3 points despite two late goals from China.

Here’s our match day round-up: https://t.co/q5CesDXner@TheHockeyIndia, pic.twitter.com/xxf8j7IUYF– International Hockey Federation (@FIH_Hockey) June 2, 2023

Though they could not capitalise, PC Battery made no mistake in the 20th minute when Harmanpreet picked up a fine injection by Abhishek and used a long powerful drag-flick to find the bottom corner of the post. The 2-0 lead put the Indian side in a good position, allowing them to play their natural game. He dominated ball possession and continued to puncture the Belgian defence.

In the 29th minute, Rajkumar Pal led the attack in midfield and found Mandeep on the right flank. Not taking the shot himself, Mandeep made a surprise pass to Amit Rohidas, who took a successful shot on goal to give India a comfortable 3-0 lead.

In the next minute, India extended this lead to 4–0 when they won another PC. A fine injection from Hardik Singh saw Amit head home a PC variation but his flick was blocked by the Belgian goalkeeper. However, the rebound was picked up by Harmanpreet Singh, who didn’t break a sweat to lay the ball past Loik van Doren.

Finding themselves on the backfoot with India taking a strong lead at half time, Belgium tested their opponent’s PC defense when they were handed back-to-back PCs at the start of the third quarter. Sreejesh, who was guarding the post, displayed some excellent goalkeeping skills and got the ball safely past the end.

In the next quarter, Belgium finally got a breakthrough when William Ghislan scored a fine field goal in the 46th minute. The late comeback from Belgium did not affect India’s game. Determined to finish well, they stuck to their structure and launched a fine attack in the dying minutes, which resulted in Dilpreet Singh scoring India’s fifth goal in the 60th minute and the FIH Hockey Pro League away side this season. ensured his first victory at the Games. India will now take on Great Britain on Saturday.