Bhubaneswar: Goalkeeper Akash Chikte put up a superlative show as India edged past Belgium 3-2 in a penalty shootout to enter the semi-finals of the FIH Hockey World League Final here on Wednesday. The teams were locked 3-3 at the end of regulation time.
Chikte blocked four Belgian attackers during the shootout, while Lalit Upadhyay, Rupinder Pal Singh and Harmanpreet Singh were on the mark for India.
Gurjant Singh (31st minute), Harmanpreet (34th) and Rupinder (46th) scored in the regulation time for India.
Loick Luypaert (38th and 46th) converted two penalty corners to lead the Belgian fightback before Cedric Charlier (52nd) scored the equaliser after Rupinder’s goal.
Earlier, defending champions Australia lived upto their billing, notching up a 4-1 win over Spain to storm into the semi-finals.
World no. 2 Australia exhibited their command in converting penalty corners as Blake Govers converted two set pieces in the 50th minute to hand his side the convincing win in the first quarter-final.
HIL to return in Nov-Dec 2019
Hockey India League will make a return in 2019 and will serve as the season-ending event to a busy international calendar, Hockey India CEO Elena Norman confirmed on Wednesday.
There had been doubts over the league’s future after the organisers scrapped the 2018 edition.
While postponing, the organisers had claimed that the move was needed to review the five seasons of the league.
Putting to rest doubts over its future, the HI CEO said HIL will come back stronger in November-December 2019. Exact dates of the event were yet to be finalised.
