India booked a spot in the semifinals of the 2014 hockey Champions Trophy against archrivals Pakistan, following a 4-2 comeback win over Belgium at the Kalinga stadium in Bhubaneswar on Thursday.
The hosts, who were 0-2 down by the 18th minute in their quarterfinal encounter, staged a grand fight back to beat the world no.4 and progress to the last four, much to the delight of the crowd.
Belgium seemed to be cruising when goals from Felix Denayer and Sebastine Dockier gave them a 2-0 lead early on in the tie but Rupinder Pal and Uthappa Sannuvananda scored before the halfway stage to draw level.
Akashdeep Singh found the back of the net in the 41st minute to give India the lead for the first time in the match. With time running out and Belgium desperate to find the equaliser, Manpreet Singh hit the Europeans on the counter to score the home side's fourth, sealing the match.
India will now face Pakistan on Saturday evening in the first semifinal. Pakistan had stunned Netherlands 4-2 in the first quarter earlier today to book their place in the last four.
Meanwhile, Australia and Germany - who defeated Argentina and England respectively in their quarterfinal fixtures - will take on each other in the second semifinal.
