WAVRE, Aug 29: India ended their FIH Hockey World Cup campaign in eighth place after losing to co-hosts Belgium in a tense shootout on Friday.
The classification match for seventh and eighth places ended 3-3 after regulation time, forcing the contest into a penalty shootout. Belgium eventually held their nerve to win 4-3 and secure seventh place, leaving India to settle for eighth.
India showed fighting spirit after falling behind and managed to level the contest late in the match. The equaliser came in the closing stages, keeping the Indian side in contention and sending the game to a shootout.
The defeat brought an end to India’s campaign at the 2026 World Cup, which was jointly hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands. The tournament features 16 men’s and 16 women’s teams and runs from August 15 to 30.
For Belgium, the victory provided a positive finish in front of the home crowd. India, meanwhile, will take the experience of competing against some of the world’s leading teams as they look ahead to their next international assignments.
The narrow loss also underlined India’s ability to compete in a closely fought contest despite ultimately missing out in the shootout.