THE ASIAN AGE
New Delhi
Aug. 7: Arjun Halappa and Dhananjay Mahadik scored once in each half to secure a 2-0 win for India over Belgium in the third and final hockey test in Braxgata on Friday.
After going down in the opener on Tuesday, India bounced back to win the second test 4-3 and Friday’s victory secured a 2-1 series win for India, according to information received here.
The Indians began aggressively and were awarded their first penalty corner in the 5th minute, but Belgium goalkeeper Vincent foiled skipper Sandeep Singh’s flick.
The visitors though made their intentions clear as the forwards penetrated Belgium’s danger zone repeatedly. India gained the lead through a foray from the left flank where Tushar Khandker and Prabhjot Singh moved in tandem at the baseline to set up Halappa, who tapped past the hopelessly off-balance Vincent in the 31st minute.
The Indian midfield sparkled with swift rotations and overlaps which caught the Belgians on the wrong foot. Gurbaj Singh, Sardar Singh, Mahadik and Prabodh Tirkey kept a steady flow of passes to set up attackers.
Belgium got two penalty corners before the break, but Vikram Pillay rushed out to abort the first one, while goalkeeper Adrian D’Souza gloved away the second.
The Indians kept up the pressure in the second half, stifling the Belgians in the midfield once again.
They scored their second goal in the 60th minute from a penalty corner as Sandeep pushed the ball to Mahadik. The 26-year-old Armyman from Bangalore unleashed a low flick to the goalkeeper’s right to ensure victory.
The team left for Barcelona later on Friday to begin the third leg of their Europe tour with a three-test series at Terassa against world number four Spain.
Meanwhile, the women’s team lost 2-4 to the USA in the junior women’s World Cup at Boston on Thursday night. The inconsequential match — India have already qualified for the next round — saw the junior women commit several mistakes on the day. India will now face England in their second round game on Saturday.