The stellar run by the Indian men's hockey team continued at the Tokyo Olympics and the men in blue will now take on Belgium in the semifinals. This is the first time since 1972 that India had managed to reach the semifinals of any Olympics games.
India is brimming with confidence after thrashing Great Britain 3-1 in the quarter-final, with Dilpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh, and Hardik Singh scored goals for India in the 7th, 16th, and 57th minute, respectively. However, the job is yet not over and India is likely to face stiff competition from Belgium, which won Silver at Rio 2016. Here's all you need to know about the all-important semifinal between India and Belgium.
High-Voltage Game
Indian men's hockey team had entered the 1972 Munich Olympics but failed to make it to the last four round. India had won gold under Vasudevan Bhaskaran in the Moscow Olympics which was marred by boycott by USA and its allied nations during the height of the Cold War.
Belgium, on the other hand, has emerged as a formidable force since the turn of the millennium. Belgium are currently World No.2 and the reigning world champions. They won the 2018 men's hockey World Cup which was held in India.
When and Where
India will clash against Belgium in the first semifinal on August 3 (Tuesday) at 7 am IST or 10:30 am Japan time. The match will be played at Oi Hockey Stadium, Tokyo, Japan.
The second semi-finals match will be played between Australia and Germany at 3:30 pm IST at the same venue.
Where to Watch
The India vs Belgium match will be broadcast live on Sony Ten 2 in English and Sony Ten 3 in Hindi. The official broadcaster of the Tokyo Olympics in India is Sony Sports Network and the coverage will be live on five network channels and 4 languages.
The country's state-run channel Doordarshan will also air the match live.
In the UK, the BBC and Eurosport will broadcast the match at 1.30 am (GST) on Tuesday. The BBC will have free-to-air coverage on its terrestrial channels, while Eurosport is a subscription channel.
How to Watch Online
The Indian vs Belgium match will be live-streamed on Sony LIV. However, users will need a premium subscription to watch the match live. For logging on to watch the match click here.
Besides, Jio will also livestream the match via its Jio TV app.
In the UK, TV licence fee-payers can stream the action for free on the BBC website and via the BBC iPlayer app. Eurosport subscribers can stream the action online or via the Eurosport Player app.
In the United States and North America, the match will be livestreamed on NBC's app. Click here.
