1980 Moscow Games but there were no semifinals in that edition as only six teams participated in the event. The last time India featured in the semifinals of the Olympics was in 1972 Munich Games where they lost 0-2 to arch-rivals Pakistan.
Belgium were the reigning European champions. Going by rankings, however, there was hardly anything to separate between the two sides as India are currently ranked third in the world. History was also on India’s side. India and Belgium played each other three times in 2019 during their tour of the European nation and the former came out victorious in all the matches. India defeated Belgium 2-0, 3-1 and 5-1 in the three games during that tour. In the most recent outing in March this year, India beat Belgium 3-2 during their Europe tour.
