*Harman in action

New Delhi, June 3:  A rampaging India tore apart Olympic Champions Belgium with a 5-1 thrashing in their second match against them in the ongoing FIH Hockey Pro League at the Lee Valley Stadium in London on Friday.

Captain Harmanpreet Singh had promised a better showing by his side on the eve of this match and this evening the Men in Blue justified the confidence of their captains as they ran through the Belgium defence time again.

Yes it turn out to be a redemption for India who had lost to Belgium 1-2 in their first leg match last week.

Harmanpreet led from the front scoring two goals  (20', 30') while Vivek Sagar Prasad (2'), Amit Rohidas (29') and Dilpreet Singh (60') chipped in with a goal each. For the losers William Ghislan was the lone goal getter

With revenge in their mind India got off to a  off to a dream start with a well-executed goal in only the 2nd minute of the game which set the momentum for the game. It was Gurjant Singh who set up the goal for Vivek with a fine assist from the left flank.

India built on this early success displayed good control of the ball, and showed the right temperament in their attacking structure. They mounted pressure on the Belgian defence when newcomer 

Sanjay forced the experienced Emmanuel Stockbroekx to make an error while making space in the Belgium's half. The infringement resulted in India being awarded their first PC.  

Though they could not convert this opportunity, the PC battery made no mistake in the 20th minute when  Harmanpreet picked up a good injection by Abhishek, used a long powerful dragflick to find the bottom corner of the post. A 2-0 lead put the Indian side in good stead, allowing them to play their natural game. They dominated the ball possession and continued to puncture the Belgian defence.  

In the 29th minute, Rajkumar Pal led the attack in the midfield, finding Mandeep on the right flank. Not taking the shot himself, Mandeep made a surprise pass to Amit Rohidas who took a successful shot on goal and put India in a comfortable 3-0 lead.

 A minute later India extended this led to 4-0 when they won yet another PC. A good injection by Hardik Singh, saw Amit lead the PC variation but his flick was blocked by Belgian goalkeeper. However, the rebound was picked up by Harmanpreet who broke no sweat in putting the ball past Loic Van Doren.

Finding themselves on the backfoot with India taking a formidable lead at half-time, Belgium tested their opponent's PC defence when they were awarded back-to-back PCs in the start of the third quarter. Sreejesh, guarding the post, showcased some fine goalkeeping skills and eventually cleared the ball to safety.

In the last quarter, Belgium finally found a breakthrough when William Ghislan scored a fine field goal in the 46th minute. Belgium's late comeback didn't dent India's game. Determined to finish well, they stuck to their structure and produced a good attack in the dying minutes which resulted in Dilpreet Singh scoring India's fifth goal in the 60th minute and ensuring their first win in the away games of FIH Hockey Pro League this season.

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