It was billed as a match that would test India. And it was right through the 70 minutes of the game . It saw India battle hard to earn 2-2 draw against Olympic silver medallists Belgium in an evenly-contested Pool C match of the men’s hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar .

Pegged back by Alenander Hendricks’s goal in the eighth minute, India made a valiant comeback after the change of ends, scoring two goals in the third and fourth quarter through Harmanpreet Singh (39th) and Simranjeet Singh (47th) to take the lead.

But the hosts defence faltered in the final minutes and conceded a late goal when Simon Gougnard scored in the 56th minute to draw level.

The draw, however, enabled World No. 5 India to take the top spot in Pool C ahead of Belgium on goal difference. Both teams have a win and a draw from two outings.

India had earlier blanked South Africa 5-0 in their opener, while world no. 3 Belgium pulled off a close 2-1 win over Canada.

India will play Canada in their last pool match on December 8, while Belgium will be up against South Africa on the same day.