Commonwealth Games 2022: 'Such an incident appalling at the top level,' says former Indian coach Sjoerd Marijne

Indian hockey is in heartbreak after the women's team fought bravely against Australia but were defeated on penalties in the Commonwealth Games semifinal on Friday night. The former coach of the team Sjoerd Marijne said that it is appalling that something like the clock howler could happen at the top level of the game.

The controversial decision to award Australian forward Rosie Malone another penalty despite Savita Punia saving it in the first attempt left everyone confused and frustrated.

The logic behind it was that clock wasn't ready to operate when the first penalty was taken.

Former Indian Women's Coach Sjoerd Marijne, who oversaw the transformation of the Indian team, was left as baffled as everyone else.

"I don't have words to describe what happened. Like everyone else, I am also confused. The first penalty in any shootout is important. After Savita saved it, the retake put the Indian girls off and the pressure came back on them," Marijne said while talking to The Bridge about the incident.

"It is appalling that such an incident happens at the top level. FIH acknowledged their mistake and it is a good gesture but it doesn't change things which happened".

"When something like this happens in the medal games, it affects the players as the medal is important for their future".

Talking about the performance of the Indian team in the important game, Sjoerd said, "I am really proud of the girls. The way they came back after conceding the early goal and their whole game was good to watch."

"The attackers were good, they played the possession game and kept Australia at the bay. The Indian defence stood good and they made some saves. There were a lot of positives in the game yesterday".

Indian fans were quite appalled by what happened on the pitch and everyone was expressing their disappointment on Twitter.

Indian coach Janeke Schopman has some strong words for the officials and expressed her frustration about the decision which shook the team. Marijne said such sentiments are natural but that the team should now look to the Bronze medal match.

"It is a big disappointment but nobody can control it. With all the emotion and hard work involved, it does affect the morale but you need to pick up and move on. It is better to leave the past and focus on what we can control in future," he said.

"The important part is that they played well and there are a lot of positive takeaways from the game. Right now, they should focus on the next game against New Zealand and go for the medal which they deserve," he added.

India will play their bronze medal play-off against New Zealand on Sunday and will look to brush off the semifinal disappointment.