FIH Pro-League | Sreejesh saves penalty stroke, Indian men shock Olympic champions Belgium

The Indian team was down 1-3 with just eight minutes left in the match but made it 3-3 to force a penalty shoot out.

Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh saved a penalty stroke in an exhilarating shoot out after making some breathtaking saves in regulation time as the Indian men's team stunned Olympic champions Belgium 5-4 in the first match of the two-legged FIH Pro Hockey League in Antwerp on June 11, 2022.

The Indian team was down 1-3 with just eight minutes left in the match but made it 3-3 to force a penalty shoot out. Sreejesh foiled an attempt from Alexander Hendrickx, who was taking his third PS, when the shoot out was locked 4-4 and Akashdeep Singh found the net to make it 5-4 for the Tokyo Games bronze medallists.

Sreejesh, as usual, was brilliant under the bar, foiling a number of attempts from the hosts throughout the match but his two saves in the final quarter proved to be crucial.

The eventful first quarter ended in a goalless stalemate with Sreehesh doing a fantastic job under the bar, making two saves.

It was India who had the first opportunity to open the scoring but both the short corners went abegging as the home goalie foiled those attempts with his rock solid defence.

Akashdeep too fluffed a shot near the goalpost which on any other day he would have flicked inside the post.

However, early in the second quarter, India found the net when Abhishek's shot rebounded off the custodian's leg and Shamsher Singh (18') tapped the high ball into the net after it came off the post.