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The Indian men's hockey team went down fighting to Belgium 1-2 in their fourth pool game of the Paris 2024 Olympics on Thursday (August 1).
The Indians took the lead against a Belgian team who failed to combine effectively in the opening half. Abhishek capitalized on a dreadful defensive error to give his side the lead in the second quarter before Thibeau Stockbroekx drew level for the defending champions just after half-time.
PR Sreejesh came up with some commendable saves but was unable to stop John-John Dohmen from scoring the winner in the third quarter of the men's hockey encounter at the Stade Yves-du-Manoir.
The contest, which lacked pace to begin with, saw both sides unable to launch effective forays in the opening quarter of their fourth pool game.
As the Belgians attempted short passes to get the ball out of their own circle, Abhishek came up with an opportunistic steal before scoring with a powerful strike in the 18th minute much to the delight of the Indian supporters.
Despite the reverse, the Red Lions were unable to reduce the deficit before half-time after faltering repeatedly in and around the striking circle.
A rejuvenated Belgian outfit stormed the Indian circle immediately after half-time with Florent van Aubel, De Kerpel, and Thibeau Stockbroekx combining brilliantly. Stockbroekx restored parity for the defending champions in the 33rd minute before Sreejesh singlehandedly stopped the Belgians from doubling the lead with some brilliant drag-flick stops.
After falling over while attempting to keep an Alexander Hendrickx drag-flick out, Sreejesh could do little as the vastly experienced John-John Dohmen tapped the ball into the net in the 44th minute. Vincent Vanasch stopped a penalty corner strike from Amit Rohidas a minute later.
Despite earning a penalty corner at the death, the Indians were unable to convert even as Florent van Aubel came up with an incredible goalline save.
The Indian men's hockey team are in third place in the pool currently with 7 points behind Belgium and Australia.
Harmanpreet Singh and Tom Boon ahead in battle of goalscorers in men's hockey event at Paris 2024
Despite neither player being able to score during their fourth pool game, Harmanpreet Singh and Tom Boon continue to lead the list of goalscorers in the men's hockey competition at Paris 2024.
Both star drag-flickers have scored four goals thus far, with Boon manufacturing a hat-trick against the Australians.
Unsurprisingly, penalty corner specialists have manufactured quite a few goals thus far, with Blake Govers of Australia scoring three, the same as Alexander Hendrickx who was one of the architects of Belgium's Tokyo 2021 triumph.
Meanwhile, Niklas Wellen's third-minute goal from open play was enough to steer the Germans to a 1-0 win against the Netherlands. As a result of the win, Germany has qualified for the quarterfinals of the men's hockey event from Pool A while the Dutch still await a berth in the knockouts.
Who the Indians will play in the quarterfinals will become clear tomorrow (August 2) when they square off with Australia. The Netherlands takes on Spain while Great Britain faces Germany to determine the final placings in Pool A.
