Belgium beat India 4-3 on penalties after 3-3 draw at Hockey World Cup in Wavre

India lost to Belgium 4-3 in a penalty shootout after a 3-3 draw at the Hockey World Cup at the Belifus Arena in Wavre on Friday. Belgium converted four shootout attempts while India managed three, settling the placing by penalty strokes.

India twice came from a goal down to force the tie, with captain Harmanpreet Singh scoring twice using drag-pushes, the second arriving from a 59th-minute penalty corner in the closing seconds. Veteran midfielder Manpreet Singh suffered a facial injury when he was struck near the eye while blocking a close-range attempt by Hugo Labouchere and was helped off the field to applause. Harmanpreet’s afternoon included disciplinary setbacks: a five-minute suspension after India briefly fielded 12 players and a green card in the third quarter.

Abhishek Nain gave India the lead five minutes into the match when his shot deflected in off Alexander Hendrickx. Belgium responded with sustained full-court pressure and a barrage of attempts; Suraj Karkera resisted some early pressure while Mohith H.S. was unable to stop an unmarked Roman Duvekot’s equaliser in the 21st minute. Hugo Labouchere then scored from Belgium’s fifth penalty corner in the 22nd minute to put the hosts ahead.

After Manpreet’s injury, India recovered to remain competitive, but Belgium punished an error when Nicolas de Kerpel scored in the 46th minute. That goal was allowed to stand despite India’s referral alleging a touch on the body in the build-up.

In the shootout, Harmanpreet Singh and Sukhjeet Singh both failed to convert against Belgium goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch. India’s keeper Mohith H.S. was judged to have committed too early as Belgium found the net on four occasions to prevail 4-3 in the penalty shootout.

India could only manage an eighth-place finish in the Hockey World Cup. The official scoreline read India 3 (Abhishek 5, Harmanpreet 30, 59-pc) drew with Belgium 3 (Duvekot 21, Labouchere 22-pc, de Kerpel 46); Belgium won the penalty shootout 4-3 to end their home World Cup with something to cheer about.