Rio Olympic Men's Hockey: India bow out to Belgium 3-1 in quarter-finals
India’s quest for an Olympic medal in Hockey will stretch on for another four years as Roelant Oltmans’ bowed out from the quarter-finals, losing 3-1 to Belgium. After going in fromt early through a goal from Akashdeep Singh, the Indian team cracked wide open in the second half, conceding 3 goals in the space of 16 minutes.
A crisp start from India
The game began with a bang as Belgium took a crack at goal within five seconds of the pushback. However, the Indians weren’t far behind and created the first real chance of the game. A powerful slap into the D by V Raghunath only needed a touch to give India the lead in the opening minutes.
Belgium, however, looked the more composed of the teams as they built on the pressure with their swift free flowing Hockey. However, it was India who took home the first glory as Akashdeep Singh somehow got his stick at the end of another vicious slap into the box by Raghunath in the last minute of the first quarter.
Holding on
The second quarter again started with India reeling in the pressure with their midfield press and only looking to hit the Belgians on the counter. And Roelant Oltman’s plans looked to be working to perfection as Nikkin Thimmaiah and Akashdeep Singh came close to double up India’s lead.
While the Belgians huffed and puffed, the Indians looked comfortable hitting on the break. But that changed as the half drew to a close. A superd shot from Belgian skipper John-John brought out the best from PR Sreejesh, whose reflex save helped India keep the vital lead.
This was followed quickly by the first penalty corner of the match being awarded to the Belgians as a slip from Kothajit in the D saw the ball deflect off of his knees. However, V Raghunath was on hand to charge down the dragflick to avert the danger and help India take home a vital lead into the half.
Disaster strikes
Sreejesh was again there to save India’s blushes early on in the second half as Thomas Briels got behind the Indian backline for the first first time. But the Indian skipper was on hand to deny Belgium the goal, making himself big to cover every inch of the 12x7 goal in an one on one situation.
However, the Belgians were not to be denied for much long as Sebastien Dockier dribbled into the circle and unleashed a shot to bring the Belgians back into the game in the 34th minute. Sreejesh could and should have saved it, but failed to as the ball hit off of his foot and rolled in to the net.
Dockier was again on hand to chance his luck in the 38th minute as he forced himself again. However, Sreejesh came out quickly to narrow down the angle and produce yet another memorable save. India were certainly under the cosh and their mettle truly tested.
The quarter truly belonged to Beligum as India failed to break into the Belgium D. And if not for Sreejesh, India could have been 3 goals down as Tom Boon finally showed up.
And just as they tought going into the final quarter on level termsn; in the final seconds Sebastien Dockier hit again to get the Belgians in front. A diving deflection into the top corner made the scoreline 2-1 in favour of the Belgians, leaving Sreejesh totally helpless.
Late effort fails to yield result
While India did start on a positive note in the last quarter, they did concede the first penalty corner in the quarter. And while Belgium failed to take advantage of that, Tom Boon was on hand to give Belgium a 3-1 lead soon after, going through the Indian defence like a knife through butter.
The Indians, who went went into the last 10 minutes of the game without a goalkeeper created a few chances, but they were never enough as the Belgians did well to kill off the clock and ultimately all Indian hopes. When the last hooter sound, India were in the end comprehensively beaten by a team that executed much better on the day.
While, this might be considered as another dissapoiniting Hockey campaign, this might in years come, stand as the jumping board for India’s successes. For the first time in along time the Indian men have truly made us proud with their efforts on the Hockey field and gives us much hope for the future. India will no longer be considered mere pushovers.
Final score: India 1 (Akashdeep Singh 15’), Belgium 3 (Sebastien Dockier 34’, 45’; Tom Boon 50’)