Rio Olympics 2016 Hockey, Highlights - India vs Belgium: India Go Down 1-3 to Belgium in Quarters
India failed to make it to the semifinal of the 2016 Rio Olympics after going down 1-3 to Belgium in the quarterfinal. Catch hockey highlights of India vs Belgium here
India's hopes of winning a medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics came to a crushing end after they lost 1-3 to Belgium in the quarterfinals. Akashdeep Singh had given India the lead but Sebastien Dockier scored twice to put Belgium 2-1 in front. Tom Boon scored in the fourth quarter to assure Belgium's passage to the semifinals. Catch hockey highlights of India vs Belgium here. (SCHEDULE | MEDAL TALLY)
22:25 hrs IST: That's it from us today! India put in a gritty performance in the Olympics and should hold their heads up high. Thanks for joining. Hopefully, a medal will come soon for India.
22:21 hrs IST: The buzzer goes!! And it's over for the Indians. They are out of medal reckoning after losing 1-3 to Belgium in the quarters.
22:20 hrs IST: The Belgians are just running down the clock now. Less than a minute to go
22:15 hrs IST: India have just under 5 minutes to bring themselves back in contention.
22:13 hrs IST: Roelant Oltmans takes a bold decision to take off Sreejesh and brings 11th player in attack in the form of Raghunath
22:10 hrs IST: Goal!! Belgium take 3-1 lead. India now have a mountain to climb. Tom Boon the scorer for the Belgians
22:07 hrs IST: Penalty corner for Belgium and it is blocked again.
22:03 hrs IST: We are underway in the fourth quarter.
22:01 hrs IST: Buzzer goes to bring an end to the third quarter. Belgium lead 2-1.
22:00 hrs IST: Goal!! Sebastian Dockier gives Belgium 2-1 lead vs India
21:59 hrs IST: Stunning save from Sreejesh. He is single-handedly keeping India in the game.
21:58 hrs IST: Penalty corner for Belgium. Their second of the game
21:55 hrs IST: Under five minutes to go in third quarter and India are yet to win a penalty corner.
21:48 hrs IST: Goaall!! Sebastian Dockier levels the score for Belgium. It's 1-1 now!!
21:47 hrs IST: Sreejesh with another brilliant save to deny Belgium.
21:45 hrs IST: Third quarter starts and Belgium are on the attack immediately.
21:35 hrs IST: There goes the buzzer. India lead Belgium 1-0 at halftime!
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21:34 hrs IST: Penalty corner for Belgium but it's straight at Sreejesh.
21:32 hrs IST: Belgium narrowly miss. Oh that was close!
21:28 hrs IST: India's counter-attacking is just lethal. They break with so much speed and troubling the Belgium defence.
21:27 hrs IST: Akashdeep goes close again! Almost doubled India's lead.
21:26 hrs IST: Chandanda breaks with speed for India but fails with the end product.
21:22 hrs IST: Patient build-up play from the Belgians but India are defending bravely.
21:19 hrs IST: The second quarter is underway!
21:17 hrs IST: End of first quarter! India have the unlikely lead against Belgium.
21:15 hrs IST: Goooalll!! Akashdeep scores for India much against the run of play. His second goal of the Rio Olympics.
15' And it's a GOOAALL!!! @akashdeeps985 rises to the occasion to win the lead for India!#IND 1-0 #BEL#Hockey pic.twitter.com/Jo0VSiCafl
- Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) August 14, 2016
21:09 hrs IST: Belgium hockey team's passing is equivalent to that of Spanish football club -- Barcelona.
21:05 hrs IST: Tom Boon shown the green card. Golden opportunity for India to take advantage.
21:03 hrs IST: Belgium have started well but the Indians have also stuck to their guns so far in the first quarter.
21:00 hrs IST: And we are underway in the quarterfinal!!
20:56 hrs IST: This is Belgium's golden generation and the Indians have a mountain to climb. We are just minutes away from the start.
The action begins at 9:00 PM IST. Have a close look at the Starting XIs & tweet your views with #Hockey & #Rio2016. pic.twitter.com/X5lFRgtHCq
- Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) August 14, 2016
20:47 hrs IST: The Indian men's team will be aiming to reach the semifinal at the Olympics after a gap of 36 years.
20:45 hrs IST: Hello and welcome to the live blog of India's quarterfinal match against a high-flying Belgium team.
© Hockey India
India showed great heart in the group stage, beating Argentina and narrowly going down to European powerhouses Germany and the Netherlands.
The Indians, however, were held to a 2-2 draw by Canada that scuppered their chances of finishing third in Pool B.
After India's draw, in another Pool B match Argentina defeated Ireland 3-2 to seal the No. 3 spot. It meant that India finished the Pool standings in fourth spot.
In the recent past, India have lost to Belgium both times the two teams have met. In World Hockey League (in December), India lost 0-1 while in June this year at the Champions Trophy, the Indians lost 1-2.
India will take heart from the fact that Belgium lost to New Zealand in their final group match, but nevertheless, India will need to be at their best to come out on top against the Belgians.