Wavre: Captain Harmanpreet Singh's last-gasp penalty-corner strike forced a shoot-out, but India finished eighth at the FIH World Cup after falling 3-4 to co-hosts Belgium on Friday.

World No. 2 Belgium held a 3-2 lead until the final minute, when India secured a penalty corner with just 26 seconds remaining on the clock. Harmanpreet converted cleanly to bring the sides level at 3-3 at the end of regulation time.

The goal marked Harmanpreet's eighth of the tournament.

In the ensuing shoot-out, Shilanand Lakra, Dilpreet Singh and Abhishek converted their efforts, but Harmanpreet and Sukhjeet Singh failed to convert, allowing Belgium to seal a 4-3 victory.

Tom Boon, Arthur de Sloover, Alexander Hendrickx and Roman Duvekot scored for Belgium, while Victor Fourbert missed his attempt.

Abhishek had initially put India ahead before Harmanpreet scored twice in regulation time. Duvekot, Hugo Labouchere and Nicolas de Kerpel scored the regulation goals for Belgium.

Playing in front of a sizeable group of local supporters at the Belfius Hockey Arena amidst cold winds, the Indian team took an early lead but was unable to sustain its momentum against their higher-ranked opponents.

Abhishek opened the scoring in the sixth minute, sending his effort into the net via a deflection off a Belgian defender's stick.

Belgium gradually asserted control, equalising in the 22nd minute through Duvekot before Labouchere put them ahead a minute later with a powerful penalty-corner drag-flick.

India found an equaliser shortly after the interval when Harmanpreet converted a penalty corner in the 31st minute.

Belgium appeared to have retaken the lead soon after when Hendrickx converted a penalty corner, but India successfully overturned the decision on review.

India came close to reclaiming the lead in the 40th minute when Harmanpreet drove down the left flank and found Abhishek inside the circle, though his effort deflected wide off a defender's stick.

Belgium reclaimed the lead in the 47th minute when de Kerpel scored to make it 3-2.

India faced another setback in the final period when veteran midfielder Manpreet Singh was struck in the face by a high-speed Labouchere shot.

The experienced player was forced off with an apparent injury above the eye, though he returned to participate in the shoot-out.

In the closing minutes, India substituted their goalkeeper for an additional outfield player to press for an equaliser.

The effort yielded a penalty corner with 26 seconds remaining, which Harmanpreet converted to send the match to a shoot-out.

Belgium held their composure in the shoot-out to condemn India to an eighth-place finish.

India's campaign, aimed at securing a first World Cup medal in 51 years, began with a 3-1 win over Wales and a 5-3 victory over Pakistan, followed by a 2-4 defeat to England.

In the second round, India failed to collect a point, conceding three late goals in a 1-3 loss to the Netherlands before a 5-3 defeat against Argentina eliminated them from semi-final contention.

Belgium also missed out on the top four after recording 1-1 draws against Australia and Spain in the second phase.

PTI