Bhubaneswar, Nov 28 (IANS) Belgium pipped Canada 2-1 in the opening match of 2018 Hockey World Cup at the Kalinga Stadium, here on Wednesday.

Felix Denayer gave an early lead to Belgium by scoring in the very third minute of the game, while skipper Thomas Briels extended the lead to 2-0 after he found the back of the net in the 22nd minute.

It seemed Belgium would register an easy win, but Mark Pearson gave some hope to Canada after converting a penalty corner in the 49th minutes of the game. The North American nation however failed to equalise the score, suffering a narrow 1-2 loss to the Red Lions.

--IANS kk/sed