Old foibles with composure at the death surfaced as India's hockey team, with less than two minutes on the clock, failed to score a goal against Belgium, and lost for the first time in this Olympics. India, who had already sealed a quarterfinal berth, appeared set to salvage a draw, but postman Florent van Aubel nudged away a goal-bound penalty corner and they slipped to a 2-1 defeat which saw them drop to third spot in pool B.
Could India have beaten the defending champions? Yes. Did they do enough to earn a win? Short answer, no. In the first three matches of their campaign, the eight-time champions were far from their best. Against Belgium they turned in a much-improved performance, but it wasn't enough to get past the Red Lions.
