Why India is filled with hope and optimism after its defeat to Belgium

India may still feel proud of themselves even if they lost their match against Belgium, the reigning men's hockey champions, 1-2, at the Olympics in Paris on Thursday.

Abhishek gave India the lead in the second quarter on yet another hot day with a rare open-play goal, but the Europeans responded with two goals in the third. Harmapreet Singh & Co. tried their hardest, but they were unable to create a turnaround.

The captain of India had already scored two crucial goals in the closing minutes of the matches against Argentina and New Zealand. He had another opportunity to score against Belgium, but Florent van Aubel deflected his thundering drag-flick off target and onto the goal line. India inquired