Pan-American champions Argentina defeated Poland 5-1 to set up a Champions Challenge semi-final with Belgium, who outplayed Canada 4-0 in the quarter-finals on Thursday. Argentina, at world No. 8 the highest-ranked team in the tournament, and Belgium have both already secured direct entry to the 2012 Olympic Games.
The Belgians finished first in pool A and hence will be teamed against India.
Argentina beat Belgium 4-2 to claim the Olympic title and win their country's first Games medal in men's hockey, edging a close-fought match between two teams few expected to make the final.
Belgium's credentials as a genuine outside bet for World Cup success face a tougher examination against Tunisia on Saturday after a relatively sedate opening against Panama.
During the Paris Olympics, Chopra had expressed his desire to play in the Diamond League Final to be held in Brussels, Belgium, on September 14. For that to happen, he will have to play at least one DL Meeting -- either in Lausanne on August 22 or in Zurich on September 5.
India's Lakshya Sen got off the a rousing start at the Olympics, beating Guatemala's Kevin Cordon 21-8, 22-20 in the men's singles badminton competition on Saturday.
Indian men's hockey team leaves for Mike Horn's base in Switzerland ahead of Paris Olympics
India men's hockey team striker Lalit Upadhyay has worked hard to rebuild his career and considers all the setbacks as blessings in disguise.
Bitter defeat for Belgium in the World Cup semi-final is tempered by the fact that influential squad members will likely still be around in two years' time for the European Championship where they will have another realistic chance at a major title.
Tuesday's semi-final in St Petersburg sees team mates from English champions Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur go head to head as well as rivalries between club colleagues from Barcelona, Paris St Germain and Monaco.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy have been handed relatively easy groups for the Paris Games, which begin on July 26.
A dipping long-range strike from Kevin de Bruyne gave Belgium a late 2-1 win away at 10-man Switzerland in a friendly between the two Euro 2016 finalists on Saturday.
"Dull, boring, lifeless -- nothing else to say really. But we're going to win the World Cup anyway so don't worry about us!" said Leighton from Liverpool.
In other matches in the Champions Chellenge hockey tournament, New Zealand beat England while Argentina beat Japan.
The Indian combination of Satwik and Chirag will play the Chinese pair of Xie Hao Nan and Zeng Wei Han in the next round.
Wright blasts Man City's Haaland for throwing ball at Arsenal's Gabriel
The Belgian national team will not train for a second day following the Brussels bomb attacks, calling off a scheduled session on Wednesday in the wake of the deaths of at least 30 people, the country's football association said.
'Russia is aiming at demoralising Ukraine as a nation.' 'They want to bomb the infrastructure, the electric stations so that regular citizens will not to be able to live, to cook, to give comfort to their kids.'
Belgium will meet the United States in the Fed Cup semi-finals after Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne beat holders Russia
Germany, once the undisputed kings of European football, enter Euro 2024 with a point to prove
India conceded a soft goal in the fifth minute of the second semi-final encounter when Cedric Charlier scored from a field strike for Belgium, which eventually separated both the teams at the Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel stadium.
Here is a quick guide to the eight games which get underway on Saturday.
Images from the Euro 2024 Group D match between France and Poland, at Dortmund BVB Stadion, Germany, on Tuesday.
India were outclassed 0-4 by hosts Belgium in a lop-sided last-four clash, with Florent Van Aubel's fine hat-trick playing a pivotal role in the side's passage to the final of the FIH Hockey World League semi-finals in Antwerp.
Marouane Fellaini played chief tormentor as France suffered a 4-3 home defeat in a home friendly against Belgium on Sunday.
Legendary Indian hockey captain Viren Rasquinha has laid out a clear challenge for the national men's team as they set their sights on a Paris Olympics medal
Belgium have the wealth of talent to come up with a variety of approaches to their Euro 2016 matches but still need to find the right formula, said captain Eden Hazard on Monday.
Organisers make the call based on analysis of river samples taken the previous day at 5 a.m. and after discussions with experts on weather, according to Paris 2024.
Belgium and Great Britain beat Malaysia and South Africa respectively to improve their chances of finishing among the top seven teams in the Olympic hockey qualifier.
The medal tally at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Captain Sandeep Singh starred with two goals as India beat Belgium 4-3 in the second hockey Test to level the three-match series in Braxgata, Belgium, on the second leg of their ongoing European tour.
The United States continued their dominance of the Olympic 4x400 metres relay on Saturday but only just, as Rai Benjamin held off Botswana's Letsile Tebogo in a thrilling last-leg battle between two individual gold medallists.
Asked if the cancellation of the first match's result had any impact on him, Sen said, "I just took it as a practice match; now it is time for me to just focus on one match at a time. I will rest, recover and try to be at my best against Christie.
Argentina reached the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in 24 years on Saturday when an early goal by Gonzalo Higuain and a strong defensive display proved enough to beat a disappointing Belgium side 1-0.
Minister of Environment Magnus Heunicke urged for national unity in the wake of the assault, emphasising the importance of collective responsibility in safeguarding one another, irrespective of "political disagreements, election campaigns."
England shocked five-time reigning champions Australia 3-1, while Belgium defeated Pakistan 2-1 in their Pool A matches on the opening day of the Hero Champions Trophy hockey tournament.
Belgium went through to the last-16 at Euro 2016 on Wednesday when Radja Nainggolan's late strike gave them a 1-0 win over Sweden, who were knocked out after scoring only once in three games.
India squandered a two-goal advantage and conceded a last-minute goal to lose 3-4 to Belgium in the final of the Champions Challenge I hockey tournament in Johannesburg on Sunday.
France produced a scintillating show as they put memories of one of the most painful moments in their soccer history to one side by crushing Bulgaria 4-1 in a World Cup Group A qualifier on Friday.
Kumar Gaurav, the second secretary at the Embassy of India in Brussels tells Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel that the Belgian government has closed off its borders and shut down its entire transport system.
