Bhubaneswar, Dec 16:
A gritty Belgium defeated former champions the Netherlands in sudden death in a thrilling summit clash to win their maiden men’s hockey World Cup title at the Kalinga Stadium here on Sunday.
Olympic silver medallist Belgium created history by eking out a 3-2 win in the penalty shoot-out after the final match of the game’s showpiece event ended in a goalless draw.
It was a great day for Belgium hockey as the country registered its second biggest international title after the Olympics silver in Rio in 2016.
In the last edition of the World Cup at The Hague in Netherlands, Belgium had finished fifth.
The Netherlands, on the other hand, failed to match Pakistan’s record of a fourth world title for the second consecutive edition. The Dutch had finished runners-up to Australia four years ago in front of their home crowd. They last won a World Cup title way back in 1998 in Utrecht.
Incidentally, it was the Netherlands’ second consecutive match that went to shoot-out in the tournament after their victory over Australia in the semi-finals on Saturday.(PTI)
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