Paris: By raising the intensity of their game when confronted by defending champions Belgium, India displayed some mettle today in a 1-2 loss that boosted the team morale as the Olympic hockey competition moves to the business end.

Tokyo bronze medallists India’s packed defence posed a big challenge to the Belgians, who came into this contest after a historic 6-2 triumph over Australia but found the Asian champions determined to fall back and defend the 18th minute lead gained through a flash strike from Abhishek. One of India’s youngest players, Abhishek picked a fine through ball at the top of the circle and sounded the boards with a firm drive that stunned custodian Vincent Vanasch.

The difference in class between the two rivals narrowed considerably as the Indians briskly fell back to defend their territory against Belgium’s notorious counter–attacks. Seasoned custodian PR Sreejesh repeatedly denied dangerous penalty corner flicker Alexander Hendrickx and the deep-defenders denied Belgium time and space inside the circle. Two early penalty corners for Belgium indicated the drift for the match, but India held ground and saw striker Sukhjeet Singh break through to the top of the circle before being dispossessed.

It was against the run of play that India took the initial lead to the delight of the goodly Indian crowd in the galleries, who for a change seemed overawed by those who had driven a couple of hours from the nearby Belgium border to support their squad, which today posted the fourth successive victory to stay atop the Pool B standings.

Tokyo Olympic silver medallists Australia recovered from yesterday’s hammering at the hands of Belgium to outplay New Zealand 5-0 and move into the second spot with nine points, two ahead of India.

Tottering in their previous three outings despite managing to log seven points through two victories and a draw, India’s position in the pool hinges on the last league fixture against Australia.

They are also keeping an eye on 2016 gold medallists Argentina, whose 2-1 win over Ireland gave them seven points from five outings. India’s position in the pool will be determined not just by their game versus Australia, but also how Argentina performs against title holder Belgium in the last league fixture.

There is more turmoil in the other group, where reigning World Cup winners Germany have gradually accelerated to move into top gear with four successive victories, marching ahead of recent World Pro League winners The Netherlands. The line-up for the quarte

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