The result means India will be bidding for their first Olympic medal in 41 years - a bronze - when they take on a losing team in the second semi-final between Australia and Germany on Tuesday evening.
The Belgian was given the right start, earning his first PC a minute after pushback, and defender Loik Luypert was able to squeeze the ball between the legs of the first rusher and goalkeeper PR Sreejesh to score.
However, India responded quickly and scored their first PC in the next five minutes. Harmanpreet Singh scored his fifth goal of the tournament, pulling the ball hard and shorting goalkeeper Vincent Vanash. Just two minutes later, Mandeep Singh lay on a tough square pass to the right from Amit Rohidas, made the tiniest workable room for himself, and then hit a quick, low reverse hit behind Vanash to give India the lead. .
India looked to be on the better side in the first quarter but were under a lot of pressure in the form of half-time. Belgium were able to earn six more PCs in the second quarter, and tournament top scorer Hendrixes played the ball to Sreejesh's right side, a rookie late flick of the wrist to prevent the Indian goalkeeper from finding the right balance, making it 2. For -2.
The third quarter was a quiet affair, with both teams struggling to cope with the heat and humidity. India though won a few PCs, but Vanash stopped Rupinder Pal Singh from scoring while Harmanpreet went wide with an effort.
The fourth quarter began in full swing for Belgium, with Indian skipper Manpreet Singh throwing a clumsy tackle around the center line within a minute and earning a two-minute suspension via a green card. Belgium took advantage of the pressure and earned their first PC of the second half. Hendrix took his goal count to 13 with a late adjustment, sending the ball to Sreejesh's left, between the player on the post and the second rusher, for 3-2.
Belgium got a slew of PCs in the middle of the quarter, and one of them hit an Indian defender and was considered leading the way. Hendrix would convert the resulting penalty stroke to bring up a hat-trick and put Belgium two goals ahead, an lead he defended comfortably until the end. In the end, Jon-John Dohmann added an easy goal with seconds to capitalize on Sreejesh's absence, which was removed to accommodate an extra outfield player.
In the women's tournament, India will play their semi-final against Argentina on Wednesday afternoon.