Bhubaneswar: Defending champions Belgium put on a dazzling second-half show to whip South Korea 5-0 in their opening Pool B fixture in the World Cup Hockey 2023 at the Kalinga Stadium here on Saturday.
Asian champions Korea played second fiddle at Kalinga Stadium, but managed to keep their citadel intact in the first two quarters.
Belgium turned on the heat after the change of ends, scoring in the very first minute. Penalty corner specialist Alexander Hendrickx, after missing out earlier, made amends with a stinging hit.
Tanguy Cosyns (42nd), Sébastien Dockier (51st) and Arthur De Sloover (57th) scored field goals, while Florent Van Aubel (49th) hit the boards off a penalty corner.
In Pool C action at Rourkela’s Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium, 2018 World Cup finalists The Netherlands scored twice each in second and fourth quarters to beat Malaysia 4-0.
World Cup debutants Chile gave a good account of themselves before going down 1-3 to New Zealand.
