Hockey: Belgium in India's way as Sreejesh's men eye semis spot

RIO DE JANEIRO

: The Indian hockey team has been unpredictable here, swinging from the sublime to the ridiculous. But now they are in the knockout stage and have a shot at the semi-finals, which could take them closer to a medal.

After the poor game against Canada, India qualified fourth from their group and will take on

Belgium

in the quarters on Sunday, a day before Independence Day. The Europeans are the favourites but at this level, anything is possible. On the eve of their match, the Indian captain P

Sreejesh

and coach

Roelant Oltmans

exuded confidence of putting up a spirited show.

Sunil fit to play

India got a scare when forward SV Sunil crashed into the advertisement board and was stretchered off the field with a wrist injury in the match against Canada. It looked serious but the team management allayed fears and declared him fit to play on Saturday morning. "He is getting better. He had some pain in his wrist. But the scan did not show anything which means he is fit to play the quarterfinals," Sreejesh said.