Archive · 29 Aug 2026
Harmanpreet Heroics Fall Short as India Finish Eighth
India played Belgium in a match to decide seventh and eighth place at the Hockey World Cup.
Abhishek Nain scored first for India.
Belgium then scored twice and took a 2-1 lead.
Harmanpreet Singh scored to make it 2-2.
Belgium went ahead again, but Harmanpreet scored with only 26 seconds left.
That made the game 3-3 and forced a shoot-out.
Three Indian players scored in the shoot-out, but Belgium scored one more goal.
Belgium finished seventh, and India finished eighth.
India lost 4-3 to Belgium in a shoot-out after a 3-3 draw in regulation time.
Harmanpreet Singh scored twice, including an equalizer with 26 seconds remaining.
Abhishek Nain gave India an early lead before Belgium moved ahead 2-1 and later 3-2.
Shilanand Lakra, Dilpreet Singh and Abhishek converted India’s shoot-out attempts.
Belgium secured seventh place, while India finished eighth at the 2026 World Cup.
- Who
- The Indian men’s hockey team and Belgium, with Harmanpreet Singh captaining India.
- What
- Belgium defeated India 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out after the classification match ended 3-3.
- When
- Friday, with reports dated August 29, 2026.
- Where
- Belfius Hockey Arena in Wavre, Belgium.
- Why
- The match determined seventh and eighth place after both teams missed the medal rounds.
- Final result
- Belgium beat India 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out after a 3-3 regulation-time draw.
- India’s finish
- India finished eighth at the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2026.
- Belgium’s finish
- Belgium secured seventh place on home soil.
- Harmanpreet Singh
- The India captain scored twice, including the equalizer with 26 seconds remaining; it was his eighth tournament goal.
- India’s shoot-out scorers
- Shilanand Lakra, Dilpreet Singh and Abhishek converted their attempts, while Harmanpreet Singh and Sukhjeet Singh missed, according to the reports.
- Belgium’s shoot-out scorers
- Reports state that Alexander Hendrickx and Roman Duvekot scored for Belgium, while Victor Fourbert missed.
- Scoring discrepancy
- The reports differ on Belgium’s regulation-time scorers: some list Tom Boon and Arthur de Sloover, while others list Hugo Labouchere and say an Alexander Hendrickx goal was disallowed.
Sources
Hockey World Cup 2026: Harmanpreet’s Brace Goes In Vain As Belgium Beat India 4-3 In Shootout After Thrilling 3-3 Draw | Video
India men's Hockey World Cup campaign ends in eighth-place finish after 3-4 shootout defeat by Belgium
Last-Gasp Harmanpreet Singh Heroics Not Enough As India Finish Eighth At FIH Hockey World Cup
