Riding on an unbelievable turnaround in fortune, India recorded a second upset on-the-trot as it rallied from two goals down to outwit world no. 4 Belgium 4-2 and ensure a berth in the semifinals of the Champions Trophy hockey tournament at the Kalinga Stadium here on Thursday.
Exactly after a decade, India, which had beaten the same opponent to reach the semifinals of the 2012 Champions Trophy, qualified for the last four in consecutive editions.
The host will take on traditional rival Pakistan in a mouth-watering semifinal clash on Saturday. World Cup winner Australia will meet Olympic champion Germany in the other last-four engagement.
Change of fortune On a day that witnessed the World Cup silver and bronze medallists go out of the race for podium, countries which generally performed below par in the pool stage, made a big impact in the first round of the knock-out stage.
Despite the domination of Belgium, India did well to hold the Red Lions 2-2 at the end of two quarters.
The Indian midfield proved effective early on to keep possession, but soon it conceded ground as the Belgian linkmen, led by its captain John-John Dohmen, exerted pressure and the forwards built tension around the Indian citadel.
The host, after blocking two penalty corners successfully, conceded the first goal when Felix Denayar rolled the third corner hard into the Indian post in the 12th minute.
Belgium doubled its lead after resumption as a super through ball was touched in by Sebastian Dockier to leave the host bemused.
Soon, Rupinderpal Singh eased nerves in the home camp by flicking the first corner high into the net.
Some solo efforts did not yield the desired result, but the Asian Games champion’s constant endeavour bore fruit when S.K. Uthappa deflected home a V.R. Raghunath cross from the left in the 27th minute.
Different shape After the longer break, the home team returned in a different shape and made the optimum use of its right flank.
Dharamvir Singh worked his way up frequently and was responsible in getting India the lead. He manoeuvred his way into the Belgian circle to pass it on to S.V. Sunil. The right winger’s try was stopped by the Red Lions goalie, but an alert Akashdeep Singh tapped it in to give India the upper hand.
Belgium’s bid for a fightback through a penalty corner received a jolt as India made it 4-2 through a fine counter-attack. Nikkin Thimmiah rushed ahead with the ball to relay it on to Sardar.
The Indian captain maintained his poise while penetrating the rival circle and let Dharamvir complete the move in the 49th minute. He was rightly adjudged the ‘Man of the Match’.
Last edition's bronze medallist Pakistan stunned Netherlands 4-2, while defending champion Australia got the better of Argentina 4-2 to stay in title hunt. Germany, packed with youngsters, defeated a formidable England 2-0 to assure itself a slot in the semifinals after 2010.
Quarterfinal results:
Pakistan 4 (Muhammad Umar Bhutta 16, Muhammad Imran 30, Muhammad Irfan 51, 52) bt Netherlands 2 (Jeroen Hertzberger 6, Constantijn Jonker 39).
Australia 4 (Simon Orchard 6, Jeremy Hayward 37, Daniel Beale 42, Chris Ciriello 49) bt Argentina 2 (Matias Paredes 16, Manuel Brunet 35).
Germany 2 (Moritz Furste 30, Christopher Ruhr 58) bt England 0.
India 4 (Rupinderpal Singh 18, S.K. Uthappa 27, Akashdeep Singh 41, Dharamvir Singh 49) bt Belgium 2 (Felix Denayar 12, Sebastian Dockier 18).
