4 min readFeb 11, 2026 11:12 PM IST Ahead of their match against India in Rourkela on Wednesday, Belgium head coach Shane McLeod reflected on his side’s come-from-behind win against Argentina – where they came back from 1-3 down to win 5-3 – a day earlier. “It was our first game for a while, so maybe India will go through the same experience and may be rusty in the first quarter (as we were),” he said. As it turned out, India were not rusty in the first quarter but ran out of steam in the final period as they began their FIH Pro League campaign with a 1-3 defeat. It was a strange match for India’s head coach Craig Fulton to make sense of, because, on the balance (or imbalance) of attacking plays, Belgium deserved the final scoreline. But given how long India managed to defend – and they did defend well for more than three quarters – the margin of defeat would feel a bit harsh too. Till 53 minutes, the match was level …