Hendrickx brace powers Belgium past India 4–2 in FIH Men’s Pro League

Rourkela: India endured a tough evening at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium, going down 4–2 to Belgium in the Rourkela leg of the FIH Men’s Pro League 2025–26 on Saturday. It was the second clash between the two sides in this leg, with Belgium having already claimed the earlier encounter 3–1.

The visitors set the tone early, with Alexander Hendrickx (14’, 17’) scoring twice, while Hugo Labouchere (11’) and Arthur de Sloover (15’) also found the net. India showed far greater discipline after the break and did not concede again, but goals from Aditya Lalage (24’) and skipper Harmanpreet Singh (37’) could not undo the damage caused by Belgium’s dominant opening spell.

Belgium began with purpose, controlling possession and dictating the tempo right from the pushback. Hardik Singh produced an early surge that lifted the home crowd, and India even thought they had gone ahead in the seventh minute, only for the effort to be ruled out. That moment proved pivotal, as Belgium soon took charge.

In the 11th minute, they earned their first penalty corner and Labouchere made it count with a neat conversion. The pressure barely relented. Just three minutes later, Hendrickx unleashed a fierce drag-flick off another penalty corner to double the advantage. India were briefly steadied by a sharp foot save from goalkeeper Suraj Karkera, but Belgium struck again in the dying seconds of the first quarter. A clever variation from their third penalty corner ended with de Sloover finishing clinically to make it 3–0.

The second quarter brought more of the same. Belgium’s structure and precision continued to trouble India, and their fourth penalty corner in the 17th minute saw Hendrickx fire in his second goal to stretch the lead to 4–0. With the game threatening to slip away, India finally found a spark.

In the 24th minute, Abhishek produced a lively run through the Belgian defence and got a shot away. Goalkeeper Loic Van Doren managed to block it, but Aditya Lalage reacted quickest, tapping in the rebound to put India on the scoreboard at 4–1. Belgium had another penalty corner just before half-time, though the attempt went wide, allowing India a brief breather.

After the interval, the contest became far more even. India tightened up defensively and began to enjoy longer spells on the ball. In the 36th minute, they successfully defended Belgium’s sixth penalty corner, a moment that seemed to boost their confidence. Soon after, Sukhjeet Singh’s energetic run earned India a penalty corner of their own.

Captain Harmanpreet Singh stepped up and delivered with authority in the 37th minute, scoring his first goal of the 2025–26 season to reduce the margin to 4–2. Both teams then traded chances. Karkera produced another important save from a Belgian set-piece, while Van Doren denied Harmanpreet from India’s second penalty corner in the 44th minute.

India entered the final quarter with urgency, pushing forward in search of another breakthrough. They came agonisingly close to a third goal, but Van Doren produced a fine stop to keep Belgium’s cushion intact. At the other end, Indian goalkeeper Pawan showed sharp reflexes to block a dangerous Belgian move minutes later.

As the match moved into its closing stages, Belgium adopted a more aggressive approach to shut the game down. Pawan’s brilliant double save in the 56th minute kept India’s hopes flickering, yet the hosts could not find the finishing touch. Despite sustained effort in the final minutes, Belgium’s disciplined defence held firm to seal a deserved win.

India will now look to regroup quickly as they prepare for their final match of the Rourkela leg against Argentina, scheduled for 7:30 PM IST tomorrow.