India's free fall in the European leg of the men's Pro League hockey continued as they lost 3-6 to Belgium for a seventh defeat on the trot, in their penultimate round-robin match Antwerp on Saturday.
Arthur van Doren scored in the first minute off a penalty corner to put world number three Belgium in the lead before Alexander Hendrickx made it 2-0 in the 28th minute off another PC conversion.
Dilpreet Singh struck in the 36th minute -- also from a penalty corner -- to reduce the margin and Mandeep Singh restored parity in the 38th minute with a field goal.
But the Indian defence crumbled in the fourth and final quarter as Belgium pumped in goals through Roman Duvekot (49th), Thibeau Stockbroekx (53rd) and van Doren (54th) -- all field strikes -- to take 5-2 lead.
Amit Rohidas pulled one back for India in the 56th minute -- off a PC -- but Belgium added another goal in the 59th minute through Tom Boon to emerge 6-3 winners.
India won more penalty corners in the match, earning nine as against six of Belgium.
India's dream of booking a direct ticket to next year's World Cup has been crushed after the winless campaign in the European leg so far.
India conceded an early goal as Belgium earned two penalty corners within the first 20 seconds of play. Goalkeeper Suraj Karkera stopped Alexander Hendrickx's drag-flick, but Arthur van Doren pounced on the rebound to give the hosts the lead.
Belgium's fast start pushed India on the backfoot, with the visitors struggling to hold possession or build momentum. Towards the end of the first quarter, India began to assert themselves in the contest.
India fought their way into the contest in the second quarter. With slick stick work, they put pressure on Belgium's man-to-man defence and won two consecutive penalty corners, but failed to utilise them.
Belgium doubled their lead when Hendrickx converted a penalty corner just before half-time.
India started the third quarter brightly, but Belgium gradually took control of the game once again and dominated possession. India were awarded two consecutive penalty corners. On the second attempt, Jugraj Singh's drag-flick was blocked by the Belgian defence, but Dilpreet reacted swiftly, smashing in the rebound from a tight angle to reduce the deficit.
Moments later, Vivek Sagar Prasad played the ball into a dangerous area, where Mandeep Singh's touch took a deflection off van Doren before sneaking into the goal to make it 2–2.
India suffered a blow early in the final quarter when Roman Duvekot scored from close range following a skilful run by Tom Boon, reclaiming the lead after a penalty corner.
It was end-to-end action in the final ten minutes, and Belgium struck again following an impressive run by Victor Foubert that set up Thibeau Stockbroekx for a simple finish.
India's woes continued as Arthur Van Doren's strike from inside the circle deflected off Amit Rohidas and popped into the back of the net to make it 5-2 in favour of Belgium.
India refused to give in, and the contest was far from over as Amit Rohidas converted a crucial penalty corner to pull one back for the visitors. Rajinder Singh came agonisingly close as well but was denied by Arthur De Sloover on the line.
In the final few minutes, Tom Boon scored Belgium's sixth to complete a comprehensive victory.
Earlier, India had lost to the Netherlands 1-2 and 2-3, followed by defeats to Argentina (2-3, 1-2) and Australia (2-3, 2-3).
India sit eighth in the overall nine-team standings with 15 points, having managed just five wins against 10 losses in the FIH Pro League.
India play the same opponents again on Sunday in their final round fixture.
India go down to Germany 1-7 in Four-Nation junior hockey
The Indian junior men's hockey team began its 4-Nation tournament campaign with a loss, going down 1-7 to hosts Germany in Berlin on Saturday.
Germany took early control of the match with Nico Kistein (4th minute) opening the scoring with a penalty corner conversion, followed by a swift field goal from Alec Von Schwerin (5th) to give the hosts a 2-0 lead inside the first five minutes.
India struggled to gain a foothold, and Germany extended their lead in the second quarter through Hasbach Ben (25th) as the hosts were 3-0 ahead at half time.
The second half followed a similar pattern, with Germany continuing to dominate possession and territory.
Paul Babic (39th) made it 4-0 before India found a brief spark in the final quarter.
Forward Sourabh Anand Kushwaha (50th) pulled one back with a well-taken field goal, offering a glimmer of hope for the Indian colts.
But the hosts responded instantly. Hasbach Ben struck twice more (51st, 54th) to complete his hat-trick, while Babic (54th) added his second, capping off a commanding win for Germany.
India will aim to bounce back when they face Australia on Sunday, followed by a clash against Spain on Tuesday.
The 4-Nation Tournament features India, Germany, Australia, and Spain in a single round-robin format.
The top two teams will advance to the final, while the other two will compete for third place.
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