Antwerp, June 21 : The Indian men's hockey team went down 3'6 to Belgium in the ongoing FIH Hockey Pro League 2024'25 (Men) in Antwerp on Saturday. Goals by Dilpreet Singh (36') and Mandeep Singh (38') helped India come back from a two-goal deficit, while a late third goal from Amit Rohidas (56') kept India in the contest.

Meanwhile, a brace of goals by Arthur Van Doren (1', 54') and goals from Alexander Hendrickx (28'), Roman Duvekot (49'), Thibeau Stockbroekx (53') and Tom Boon (59') scripted the triumph for Belgium.

India conceded within the first minute when Belgium won two penalty corners in the first 20 seconds of play. Goalkeeper Suraj Karkera stopped Alexander Hendrickx's drag-flick, but Arthur Van Doren pounced on the rebound to give the hosts the lead. Belgium's fast start pushed India on the back foot, with the visitors struggling to hold possession or build momentum. Towards the end of the quarter, India began to assert itself in the contest.

Buoyed by their strong technical ability, India fought their way into the contest in the second quarter. With slick stick-work, they put pressure on Belgium's man-to-man defence and won two consecutive penalty corners, but the deficit remained. Against the run of play, Belgium doubled their lead when Alexander Hendrickx converted a penalty corner just before half-time.

India started the third quarter brightly, showing their intent, but Belgium gradually took control of the game once again and dominated possession. India found respite when they were awarded two consecutive penalty corners. On the second attempt, Jugraj Singh's drag-flick was blocked by the Belgian defence, but Dilpreet reacted swiftly, smashing in the rebound from a tight angle to reduce the deficit.

Moments later, Vivek Sagar Prasad played the ball into a dangerous area, where Mandeep Singh's touch took a deflection off Van Doren before sneaking into the goal to make it 2'2 and complete a spirited comeback. India remained tenacious in their pursuit of a third, and another penalty corner saw Sanjay narrowly miss his mark.

India suffered a fatal blow early in the final quarter when Roman Duvekot squeezed it in from close range following a skilful run from Tom Boon, reclaiming the lead after a penalty corner. It was end-to-end action in the final ten minutes, and Belgium struck again following an impressive run from Victor Foubert that set up Thibeau Stockbroekx for a simple finish.

India's woes continued as Arthur Van Doren's venomous strike from inside the circle deflected off Amit Rohidas and popped into the back of the net to make it 5'2.

India refused to give in, and the contest was far from over as Amit Rohidas converted a crucial penalty corner to pull one back for the visitors. Rajinder Singh came agonisingly close as well but was denied by Arthur De Sloover on the line. In the final few minutes, Tom Boon scored Belgium's sixth to complete a comprehensive victory.

/IANS