Bhubaneswar: Breathtaking hockey at the Kalinga Stadium followed ecstatic scenes on and off the pitch as India came from behind to beat world No. 4 Belgium in the FIH Men's Champions Trophy on Thursday to set up a date with arch-rivals Pakistan in the semi-finals.
It was Indian resilience that came to the fore as after initial hiccups they looked like playing for an outright victory instead of going through the agony of another penalty shootout like the Asian Games final. And they did it from 0-2 down.
Belgium took the lead in the 12th min through Felix Denayer, and then doubled it in the 18th through Sebastien Dockier. But that point on, it was Team India that left it's mark on the game from the second quarter onwards, which saw an open game of hockey from both the teams.
Drag-flicker Rupinderpal Singh pulled one back for the hosts in the 18th min, which lifted the spirits of the team and another full house in the stadium.
Belgium were left stunned when India scored the equaliser three minutes from half-time through SK Uthappa's deflection, and when Akashdeep Singh tapped home to make it 3-2 in the 41st min, the crowd crossed its fingers. Pakistan beckons!
It's not easy to hold onto a one-goal lead in modern hockey, and India desperately searched for the cushion, which arrived in the 49th minute through Man-of-the-Match Dharamvir Singh.
Sreejesh, though letting two past him, started off well by saving two back-to-back penalty corners in the 8th min, but he couldn't stop Denayer on the visitors' third PC. That was the goal separating the two teams at the end of first quarter.
The Belgium defence was joining in the midfielders, and at times forwards, nicely to suffocate India in defence. And that's how the second goal came about through Dockier in a field effort.
India regrouped nicely in the second quarter despite conceding an early goal as they answered back the same minute through Rupinder's rocket flick that beat Vincent Vanasch in the Belgian goal.
And 2-2, via a deflection from Uthappa off VR Raghunath's slap from outside the 25-yard line, was much better than 2-1 to go into half-time.
In the last 20 minutes, India opened the game up, which brought up frequent counters and the Belgian defence buckled under that pressure to concede two more goals.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan's unexpected entry into the semi-finals came at the cost of tournament favourites Netherlands, whom they beat 4-2.
Semi-finals line-up for Saturday
First: Australia vs Germany
Second: India vs Pakistan
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