Chennai: A vociferous crowd at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium was entertained to a dramatic finish in the most-awaited match of the day, which culminated with an edge-of-the-seat shootout after 60 minutes of pulsating hockey finished at 2-2.
The quarter-finals ended with the result that the home crowed wanted – India won the shootout 4-3, thanks to star performances by goalkeeper Prince Deep Singh and Sharda Nand Tiwari.
The high-voltage encounter began with Belgium scoring in the 13th minute through Gaspard Cornez-Massant and then putting up a defensive masterclass to deny India until the last minute of the third quarter. India’s relentless attack earned them a penalty corner in the 45th minute and skipper Rohit stepped up to flick the ball into the Belgian goal, which made it 1-1.
Tiwari scored off another penalty corner in the 48th minute to give India the lead, which they almost defended till the end. But a 59th-minute strike by Nathan Rogge pushed the game into a shootout.
The drama continued in the one-on-one situations, where the Belgian goalkeeper Alexis van Havere was fouled for bringing an Indian striker down on three occasions, resulting in penalty strokes for the home team. Tiwari converted from the spot on each of those occasions before Ankit Pal scored the winning goal, which was unsuccessfully challenged by the Belgians.
On the other hand, Prince Deep stood tall in the Indian post to deny Rogge and Nicolas Bogaerts, which proved to be the difference in the end. Hugo Labouchere, Guerlain Hawaux and Charles Langendries were the Belgian scorers in the shootout.
