India lose 0-1 to Belgium in opening hockey game of European tour

India lost 0-1 to Belgium in the opening hockey game of their European tour, with Tom Boon scoring the winning goal.

The Indian men’s hockey team’s tour of Europe got off to a poor start despite a valiant effort from the side. In their first game, India took on Belgium and lost by a solitary goal that was scored towards the end of the final quarter by striker Tom Boon.

Despite a valiant effort, India lost 1-0 to Belgium thanks to a late goal. (Getty Images)

The first three quarters saw both teams try and fail to break the deadlock. It took a last-minute effort from Tom Boon to give Belgium the victory.

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India will take some heart from the fact that a side which is resting a number of key players who took part in the Hockey World League Semi-Final and which features six uncapped players almost managed to grab a draw against Belgium.

The tour will see them play matches against Belgium, Netherlands and Austria. However, none of the matches will be broadcast in India. Hockey India’s official Twitter account confirmed as much during the previous game.

India will next take on Belgium again on August 10, with the game taking place at 10:30 pm IST.