Ipoh, 16 March 2013: The Indian players protested after the fag-end penalty corner was changed to a penalty stroke by Korean umpire Jung Woo Lim. Indians defended a short corner and Manpreet Singh made a goal line save with his stick but the ball touched his body before it fell down.
Australian umpire Ben de Young, who was on the other side, consulted and advised Lim, who changed the decision to a stroke. However, the Indians walked off the field before coach Nobbs urged them to resume play.
After the match, the Indian coach Michael Nobbs refused to comment on the umpiring decision and said it’s all part of the game. “Sometimes we end up on the wrong side of the decisions but we have to move on and play our game,’’ he quipped. He said that the Indians played good hockey and gave the solid Malaysian team jitters for the better part.
South African Paul Revington, the coach of Malaysia, said that he was not in an ideal position to watch the ball. “But video footage has confirmed that it had hit the body of the defender,’’ he said. “As a coach I have been part of such negative decisions many a time. This time it was in our favour,’’ he added.
Talking about the golden chance for Malaysia to take their maiden cup, he said he is pleased and excited that Malaysia is playing good hockey. “Australia is No.2 ranked in the world and we are No.13. That is how I look at it and I want the boys to make efforts to play good hockey and results come over a period of time,’’ he said.
Revington also praised the young Indian team. “India did play well. Their performance today was fantastic. They raised the game when necessary and did not give us any chance. Only in the last five minutes, we were able to exert any real pressure,” he concluded.
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