The Indian men’s hockey team will look to end their losing streak in the home leg of the FIH Pro League in Rourkela, when they take on Belgium in the third match on Saturday.
You can follow along all the live updates from the match on our blog below:
India lost both their matches so far this week – a 1-3 defeat to Belgium, followed by a chastening 0-8 loss to Argentina – and need to build some positive momentum before the second fixtures, and being back some confidence in the ranks. This is the year of the World Cup and Asian Games, after all.
Their best chance of putting that Argentina debacle behind them is to get some points against Belgium, against whom Craig Fulton’s team had played fairly well. It was an extremely competitive match till the halfway mark, where both teams were tied 1-1 before Belgium pumped in two goals in the final 15 minutes.
Historically, Belgium have enjoyed the upper hand in head-to-head encounters against India in recent years. Since 2013, the two sides have met 36 times, with Belgium winning 23 matches, India winning 11, and two matches ending in draws.
However, the Indian senior men’s team is in a bit of a transition right now with Manpreet Singh being rested, and several youngsters coming in such as Amandeep Lakra, Manmeet Singh and Rosan Kujur. The onus will be on Fulton and captain Harmanpreet Singh to push the team to bounce back and start afresh in their last two matches in Rourkela.