Indian men's hockey team starts its European campaign in the FIH Pro League 2021-22 with a double-header against Belgium in Antwerp. Both the IND vs BEL hockey matches will be telecast live.
Check match and telecast details of India's FIH Pro League hockey matches against Belgium - dates, start time, squads, head-to-head record, etc.
Indian men's hockey team starts its European campaign in the FIH Pro League 2021-22 with a double-header against Belgium in Antwerp. Both the IND vs BEL hockey matches will be telecast live.
After the disappointment at Asia Cup, the outings against Belgium, to be followed by matches against the Netherlands, will help fine-tune India's preparations for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
India are currently second in the nine-team FIH Pro League table with 27 points from 12 games, while Michel van den Heuvel's Belgium are third with the same number of points, on goal difference. Netherlands are at the top of the pile with 28 points.
"With little less than two months for the CWG, we will utilise this time to ensure we are best prepared for the prestigious event. The Pro League matches will give us insights into the areas that require improvement ahead of the CWG," Indian men's team chief coach Graham Reid had said.
The Indian men have named a 20-member squad for the European leg with Amit Rohidas promoted to lead the side, with Harmanpreet Singh as his deputy.
India vs Belgium match will witness the season's top two scorers -- Harmanpreet Singh (16) and Tom Boon (12) -- in action. For the record, India have also scored the most goals so far in FIH Pro League 2021-22, pumping in 54, including a record 25 from penalty corners.
Match days: India will take on Belgium on June 11 and 12
Time: 8:00 PM IST/4:30 PM Local
Venue: Wilrijkse Plein Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
The FIH Pro League double-header between India and Belgium will be telecast live on Star Sports Network. Live streaming of IND vs BEL hockey matches will be available on Disney+ Hotstar (subscription required).
All the FIH Pro League matches can be watched live on watch.hockey. Registration required.
In the last five meetings, India lead Belgium 3-2, but lost the most recent two, including the Tokyo Olympic Games semi-final.
Overall, India and Belgium have met 37 times. India won the first six meetings, then lost to the European rivals for the first in 2011, at FIH Champions Challenge (3-4) in their 11th meeting. India now lead Belgium 17-15 in the head-to-head record.
India: vs South Africa at home (10-2, 10-2), vs France (5-0, 2-5) in South Africa, vs Spain (5-4, 3-5) at home, vs Argentina (4-3, 2-2/in 1-3 SO) at home, vs England (3-3/in 3-2 SO, 4-3) at home.
Belgium: vs Germany (6-1, 5-3) at home, vs Netherlands (2-2, 1-2) away, vs Argentina (1-2, 2-0) away, vs Spain (3-3, 5-1) at home, vs France (2-1, 3-1), vs South Africa (5-0, 4-2) at home.
India: Goalkeepers - Suraj Karkera, Sreejesh PR; Defenders - Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh (vc), Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas (c), Jugraj Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh; Midfielders - Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Shamsher Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Akashdeep Singh, Shanglakpam Nilakanta Sharma; Forwards - Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek.
Belgium: Goalkeepers - Simon Vandenbroucke, Loic Van Doren; Defenders - Arthur Van Doren, Nicolas Poncelet, Gauthier Boccard, Emmanuel Stockbroekx, Alexander Hendrickx, Arthur De Sloover, Loïck Luypaert, Maxime Van Oost; Midfielders - John-John Dohmen, Augustin Meurmans, Felix Denayer (c), Simon Gougnard, Antoine Kina, Victor Wegnez; Forwards - Thibeau Stockbroekx, Florent Van Aubel, Sebastien Dockier, Cedric Charlier, Tommy Willems, Nicolas De Kerpel, William Ghislain, Tom Boon, Tanguy Cosyns.