Belgium edge past India in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup final
India's men's hockey team lost 0-1 to Belgium in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup final, with Belgium securing their first title in the tournament's history.
NEW DELHI: The Indian men’s hockey team suffered a 0-1 loss in the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup as Belgium picked up their first title at the six-team tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Sunday.
Searching for their sixth title at the invitational competition, and first since 2010, a second-string Indian team fought hard but Thibeau Stockbroekx’s 34th minute field goal was enough for the European side to lift their first crown at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium in two outings, the previous being in 2008 when they finished sixth out of seven teams.
In the league stage, India had beaten South Korea (1-0), hosts Malaysia (4-3), New Zealand (3-2) and Canada (14-3) but had lost to the 2023 World Cup silver medallists (2-3).
In what was a tight game against the world No.3 outfit, the Sanjay-led Indian team entered the Belgian striking circle only thrice in the entire match and earned three penalty corners (PC) but failed to convert any of them.
Belgium, on the other hand, had six short corners, wasting all of them, but converted one of their five circle penetrations early in the third quarter.
When India felt the need to put on the pressure on their opponents, it was Belgium who maintained the lion’s share of possession in the second half of the match, earning four short corners in the final quarter to keep India under pressure.
India’s counterattacks were also regularly halted by a stout Belgian defence, led by legendary skipper and two-time FIH Player of the year Arthur van Doren.
India had rested most of their top players, like regular skipper Harmanpreet Singh, former captain Manpreet Singh and playmaker Hardik Singh, to give youngsters exposure ahead of an important 2026 which has both the World Cup and Asian Games — a qualifier for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Belgium too had rested some of its top players but most of its players who had taken part in the previous World Cup and Olympics were part of the squad.
