Hockey World Cup: Belgium maul England 6-0 to make maiden WC final
Bhubaneswar, Dec 15: Olympic silver medallist Belgium created history by making their maiden appearance in the men's hockey World Cup summit clash, thrashing England 6-0 in a lopsided first semi-final here Saturday.
Alexander Hendrickx (45th, 50th minutes) converted two penalty corners, while Tom Boon (8th), Simon Gougnard (19th), Cedric Charlier (42nd) and Sebastien Dockier (53rd) were the other goal scorers for the world number three at the Kalinga Stadium.
Prior to this, the Red Lions' best performance in the World Cup was a fifth-place finish in the last edition of the tournament at The Hague, Netherlands in 2014.
The Belgium players, who wore black armbands to pay respect to their teammate Gougnard whose father passed away before the match, dominated possession in the first two quarters and created a couple of promising chances, two of which resulted in goals.
It didn't take long for Belgium to take the lead as Boon deflected in Florent van Aubel's measured cross from the left in the eighth minute.
Just seconds from the end of first quarter, Boon again came close but his deflection from a long ball hit the post.
Belgium doubled their lead in the 19th minute through Gougnard, who scored from a rebound after Hendrickx's flick from their first penalty corner was saved by England captain and goalkeeper George Pinner.
The Red Lions missed a sitter three minutes from half time when an unmarked Dockier pushed wide Van Aubel's pass, with only Pinner to beat.
Just a minute after the change of ends, England secured their first penalty corner, but the world number seven failed to capitalise on the opportunity.
Belgium extended their lead in the 42nd minute through Charlier, who scored with a fierce shot from a close range.
Minutes later, England earned another penalty corner but Belgium goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch was up to the task, and thwarted the danger with a fine save.
Seconds from the end of the third quarter, Belgium made it 4-0 when Hendrickx found the back of the English net from his team's second penalty corner.
Belgium continued to toy with the English defence and pumped in two more goals in the fourth and final quarter to make the last-four contest a thoroughly one-sided affair.
Another penalty corner resulted in another goal through Hendrickx, in the 50th minute, before Dockier scored from a field effort three minutes later to complete the rout.
Towards the end of the match, England secured two more penalty corners but lack of execution let them down, as they rounded off a disappointing outing.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
There's been a lapse in filing nominations, may be on my part: Manu Bhaker on Khel Ratna furore
New Delhi, Dec 24: Paris Olympics' double bronze-medallist Manu Bhaker on Tuesday admitted that "there has been a lapse may be on my part" while filing nominations for this year's National Sports Awards amid a raging controversy over her exclusion from the list of Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna awardees.
A day after the sports ministry had to do damage control by insisting that the list of awardees is yet to be finalised, the 22-year-old pistol ace took to social media to clarify her position on not being among those recommended for the country's highest sporting honour.
"With regards to ongoing issue for my nomination for the most prestigious Khel Ratna award -- I would like to state that as an athlete my role is to play and perform for my country.
"I believe there has been a lapse, maybe on my part while filing for the nomination which is being corrected," Bhaker wrote on X.
The Haryana shooter said her aim is to perform for the country and it would not change whether she gets an award or not.
This was after her father Ramkishan Bhaker and personal coach Jaspal Rana stated that the snub had affected her morale and drive to perform for the country.
"Awards and recognition keeps me motivated but are not my goal," she asserted.
"Irrespective of the award I shall remain motivated to win more medals for my country. It is a request to everyone, please do not speculate on this," she said.
Rana and Ramkishan lambasted the sports ministry and the selection committee for overlooking her despite her monumental achievements.
However, the list is yet to be finalised as per the sports ministry, which said she is likely to be there when the names are finally revealed in a few days' time.
It is reliably learnt that men's hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh and Paralympic gold-winning high jumper Praveen Kumar have been short-listed for the Khel Ratna along with 30 Arjuna awardees, 17 of them from para disciplines.
The awards selection committee is headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice V Ramasubramanian and also includes former women's hockey captain Rani Rampal, boxer Vijender Singh, and cricket great Anil Kumble among others.
The committee is mandated to consider those who file their applications but if required, it is also empowered to discuss names which do not feature in that list.
Manu's exclusion was a shock due to the fact that her historic Olympic performance came just a few months back and is still fresh in public memory.
The youngster is the first athlete from independent India to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics.
She won her bronze medals in the 10m air pistol individual and 10m air pistol mixed team (with Sarabjot Singh) events in Paris.
— Manu Bhaker🇮🇳 (@realmanubhaker) December 24, 2024
