Women’s FIH Pro League: Indian go down fighting against Belgium in opening tie

An attacking start to the match saw both the teams creating opportunities in the opening minutes, but it was Belgium who got better as they took the lead through captain Nelen Barbara in the third minute

A rusty-looking Indian women’s hockey team gave away possession quite easily a number of times before putting up a fight in the fourth quarter but eventually lost 1-2 to Belgium in its first of the two-legged FIH Pro League tie in Antwerp on Saturday.

An attacking start to the match saw both the teams creating opportunities in the opening minutes, but it was Belgium who got better as they took the lead through captain Nelen Barbara in the third minute.

The hosts piled pressure on India with their structured attack and earned two penalty corners in the 5th and 7th respectively, but the Indian defence stood tall to deny them from scoring the second goal.

Minutes later, India earned their first penalty corner of the match, but Rani’s attempt went off target, thus missed out on fetching an equaliser in the first quarter.

Trailing by a goal, India started putting pressure on the Belgian defence and midfield. They even created an opportunity in the opening minutes, but Neha’s pass to Salima Tete inside the circle went wide.

The home side responded with a quick counterattack which helped them earn back-to-back penalty corners, but yet again missed out on converting their chances.

With Belgium slightly dominating the possession, they did try to create opportunities, but the Indian defence fought hard against everything the hosts threw at them and ensured no further goals were scored at the end of the first half.