FIH Pro League 2021-22: Indian men's hockey team lose 3-2 to Belgium

The Indian men's team lost 3-2 to Belgium in the second match of their double-header in the ongoing 2021-22 FIH Hockey Pro League in Antwerp.

Abhishek (25') and Mandeep Singh (60') scored for India while Nicolas de Kerpel (33') and Alexander Hendrickx (49', 59') struck for Belgium.

It was Abhishek, with the help of Lalit Upadhyay, who opened the scoring for India in the 25th minute.

Belgium bounced back to score a goal, setting up a brilliant run into the circle where Arthur de Sloover set up Nicolas de Kerpel to score in the 33rd minute. Kerpel was successful in striking the ball past Sreejesh, therefore leveling the score at 1-1.

It seemed like nothing was working in India's favor. Alexander Hendrickx scored in the 49th minute as Belgium put India under pressure when they stormed into the striking circle, taking a 2-1 lead.

Hendrickx, just a few minutes ahead of the final whistle, struck his second and third overall goal for his team in the 59th minute.

Meanwhile, Mandeep Singh (60') also stepped up for India in the dying moments of the match to reduce the deficit to 2-3. However, it was not enough to win the match.

On the previous day, the Indian men's hockey team pulled off a scintillating 5-4 win against Belgium in a thrilling shootout.

India are currently placed third with 29 points from in the 2021-22 FIH Men's Pro League points table behind the Netherlands and Belgium. The latter are placed first and second respectively with 31 points each.

FIH Pro League 2022: Indian men's hockey team's upcoming fixtures

Men's team upcoming fixtures:

Match 1: Netherlands vs India

Date: June 18, 2022 Timings: 8:00pm IST

Match 2: Netherlands vs India

Date: June 19, 2022 Timings: 8:00pm IST

Live Streaming details

All FIH Pro League 2022 matches will be telecast live on Star Sports Select 2 and Star Sports Select 2 HD channels. Matches will also be available for live streaming on the Hotstar app.