India marched a step ahead among the last four of the hockey FIH Champions Trophy and qualified for the semi-finals for the first time since 2004 after defeating Belgium 1-0 in a thrilling quarterfinal match at Melbourne Thursday.
After disappointing for the last six editions of the Champions trophy, Indian hockey team has raised some hope for India by entering the semis. The team will now face the winner of the Australia vs England quarterfinal tie to be held later in the day.
India will look forward to mark its first Champions Trophy medal since 1982 when they won the bronze, their best ever performance in the tournament. The team is already on high spirits as they entered the tournament as wild-card entry and as the lowest-ranked team of the tournament, ranking 11.
In the quarterfinal match today Nithin Thimmaiah gave India the early advantage after getting a perfect pass from skipper Sardar Singh, who played his 150th match for India, for the easy 1-0 lead.
However, Belgium slowly gained momentum and got two-penalty corner opportunity in the later half but at the end India managed to win the match and entered the semi-finals.
Belgium failed to convert six penalty corners while India missed their only one opportunity in the game.
-With inputs from IANS
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