S2H Team

Belgium once again proved to be India’s Olympic stumbling block, winning the semifinal in Tokyo 5-2 at the Oi Stadium on Tuesday with drag-flicker Alexander Hendrickx’s hat-trick being the highlight. The Red Lions, who beat India 3-1 in a Rio 2016 quarterfinal, needed a trigger to run away with the match when the score was 2-2 going into the fourth and final quarter.

A green card shown to captain Manpreet Singh, something Graham Reid cautioned his team against, gave the World Cup champions the numerical superiority to which they responded with the go-ahead goal via a penalty corner. It eventually ended 5-2 and presented Belgium the chance to go one better than their Rio silver medal.

Belgium’s trump card Hendrickx’s triple strike came from two of his trademark drag-flicks and one from a penalty stroke, taking his tally in this tournament to an imposing 14. Hendrickx wasn’t on the pitch but Loick Luypaert proved an able deputy when he shot Belgium ahead in the second minute from the first of 14 penalty corners his team forced.

John-John Dohmen, who fought pneumonia to make a return to international hockey two years ago, scored the other Belgian goal on the dot of full-time with goalkeeper Sreejesh withdrawn for an outfield player. India’s spirited challenge which faded towards the end of the third quarter was built on a fightback after going down to an early goal.

Harmanpreet Singh levelled in the seventh minute and when Mandeep Singh, who turned sharply to send a backhander to the boards after receiving Amit Rohidas’ pass from the right of the circle, India were 2-1 ahead with 10 minutes not quite elapsed.

India, forced the third of five PCs in the 11th minute but Vincent Vanasch, three time FIH Goalkeeper of the Year, saved Rupinder Pal Singh’s drag-flick.

Thereafter, Belgium proved superior with their ball-handling skills. The resultant ascendancy brought penalty corners in a spate. India’s first runner out Amit Rohidas was key in the penalty corner defence and stood out yet again. However, Rohidas wasn’t fast enough in the 19th minute and Hendrickx, with a bandaged head and 10 stitches after an injury against Great Britain, struck.

The ace drag-flicker, probably the best in the world, scored with a deceptive low flick to Sreejesh’s right after indicating he would go top right. World Cup champions Belgium, who never showed a drop a confidence even when trailing, looked the part as India lacked the sharpness to control their structured play.

With the pendulum well and truly swung Belgium’s way, India’s only chance in the second quarter came through a PC which Harmanpreet fired wide. At the other end of the pitch, PR Sreejesh kept India’s goal intact, gloving Sebastien Dockier’s essay over the crosspiece to keep the scores level at halftime.

With the heat taking its toll, the pace of play flagged in the third quarter which ended devoid of goals and the teams took the final quarter with the real possibility of a shootout looming.

But Belgium muscled out India’s challenge, thanks in part to Manpreet’s momentary indiscretion that brooked a two-minute suspension. The Red Lions forced a series of penalty corners almost immediately and Hendrickx, who bids fair to be the greatest after Pakistan’s Sohail Abbas, flicked between Sreejesh and the left postman to make it 3-2.

Another spate of PCs in the 53rd minute led to an umpire’s referral for the possibility of a penalty stroke after Rohidas was struck by Hendrickx’s salvo in front of goal. The referral was upheld and the drag-flicker himself, eyeing a hat-trick, stepped up to send a low flick between Sreejesh’s legs to make it 4-2.

A rare look at the Belgium goal saw Harmanpreet’s back-hander blocked by Vanasch and with Sreejesh away, Dohmen put the ball in an open goal from a long overhead to give the scoreboard a misleading one-sided look. India now await the result of the other semi-final between Australia and Germany to spot their opponents in the bronze medal clash slated for Thursday.