Indian men's hockey team beats world champion Belgium

Indian men's hockey team beats defending World champions Belgium 2-0 in their opening match of the five-match Test series on Thursday.

The men in blue, backed by their heavy artillery of experienced and youth players took on a comparatively less experienced side fielded by Belgium at Antwerp. The two goals came from India's experienced forwards Mandeep Singh and Akashdeep Singh.

After reaching the half-way mark as goalless, in the third quarter, Mandeep went on to score a swift field goal to give the visitors the lead. The Belgian side pulled off a barrage of attacks, but their luck didn't shine in front of rock-solid goalkeeping by P R Sreejesh and Krishan B Pathak.

In the final quarter, Akashdeep gave India a comfortable edge which the hosts failed to counter. India is playing a five-match test series in Belgium, where they will face the home team thrice and Spain twice. The team, under coach Graham Reid will play their second match in the tournament against the hosts on October 1st.