Antwerp [Belgium]: Spectacular initiative by experienced India goalkeeper public relations Sreejesh and also an on-target attack in a thrilling shootout saw the Indian men’s hockey group loss Olympic Champions Belgium 5-4 in the FIH Hockey Pro Organization suit right here in Antwerp on Saturday.
It was a charge stroke save by Sreejesh off an attempt by Nicolas de Kerpel during the shootout that made sure India overcame while Harmanpreet Singh, Abhishek, Lalit Upadhyay, Shamsher Singh as well as Akashdeep Singh converted for India.
Earlier during the regulation time, Indian Guy’s Hockey team held their nerves, making a fantastic comeback in the last quarter to overcome a 1-3 shortage only to hold Belgium 3-3 as well as take the encounter to a thrilling shootout. Both groups met the invoicing as their built on their competition from hooter to hooter in a jam-packed arena.
It was objectives from Harmanpreet Singh (52′) and Jarmanpreet Singh (57′) that brought India back to the video game in the 4th quarter after Shamsher Singh (18′) opened up the scoreboard in the 2nd quarter while Cedric Charlier (21′), Simon Gougnard (36′) and Nicolas de Kerpel (51′) scored for the ruling Olympic Champions.
It was a high-voltage beginning to the suit with both teams getting off the blocks with hostility and also speed in their attack. It was India who made invasions to the striking circle, with a successful infiltration that saw them win the very first computer of the suit as early as the 5th min. But Jugraj Singh’s effort was well protected by a solid Belgian protection. Three mins later, knowledgeable forward Akashdeep Singh made a competent venture right into the striking circle however his worthy basket effort was off target.
A protective mistake by young Jugraj Singh attempting to stop Belgium opponent from taking a possible shot on goal saw India acknowledging a PC with simply four mins left for the very first hooter. Nevertheless, a fantastic initiative by Sreejesh that dived low to quit Tom Advantage from transforming worked splendidly, to keep the score at 0-0. The initial quarter came from the seasoned Indian goalkeeper that made another great conserve off Alexander Hendrickx’s effort at a PC.
It was lastly Shamsher Singh who damaged the deadlock when he grabbed a rebound from Abhishek to score the objective in the 18th minute. Just three mins later, Belgians showcased great teamwork as well as one-touch hockey abilities to slice with the Indian circle as well as beat Sreejesh with a fine field goal, leveling the score to 1-1.
