The Hague: In the end it came down to seconds; 44 seconds to be precise when Mandeep Singh had the ball with three Belgians on the half line. But instead of squeezing it onto the opponent's legs, he tried the dribble. The ball was lost and a perfect cross-dissected the Indian defence. John Dohmen, calm under pressure, tapped the ball past Indian goalkeeper PS Sreejesh. With 12 seconds on the clock, India had succumbed 2-3 their opening match of the Hockey World Cup being played at The Hague.

Indian coach Terry Walsh didn't waste time analyzing the defeat. "Belgium won the first half and we the second,? he said. "But an error gave the Belgians the points and we have to rebuild. These are early days in the tournament and we will do our best in the remaining matches."