Coach Sjoerd Marijne gives shout-out to women's hockey team after Bronze medal match

The chief coach of the Indian women's hockey team Sjoerd Marijne has a special message for the girls after their heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Great Britain in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 bronze medal match on Friday. 

It was a case of so near, yet so far for the Rani Rampal-led side as they missed out on what would have been a first-ever podium finish in the Olympic Games by a whisker as only one goal separated the two sides on an all-important day.

Tokyo Olympics: Coach Sjoerd Marijne has a heartwarming message for Indian eves

Taking to Twitter, Sjoerd Marijne wrote that even though his team did not win a medal, he reckons that they have indeed won something 'bigger'. Giving further clarification on the same, the Indian women's hockey team coach added that this triumph has made Indians proud again and at the same time, also inspired millions of girls that dreams can come true as long as one works hard for it and believes it. 

 Sjoerd Marijne concluded by thanking everyone for all the support.

Tokyo Olympics 2020: Indian women's team go down in a high-scoring thriller 

Coming back to the contest, India's dreams were shattered after suffering a close 4-3 loss at the hands of the Rio Olympics gold medalists Great Britain in the bronze medal match on Friday as they failed to ensure a podium finish.

The high-scoring thriller saw Great Britain come out on top with a goal that mattered the most in the final quarter to win the consolation prize.

Goalie Savita Punia had made an outstanding in the early minutes of the first quarter when the ball was struck directly at the goal and thereby ensured that India did not concede a goal instantly. India did enjoy a lot of possessions which they could not convert as the first quarter ended in a stalemate and while Great Britain did get a penalty corner, they could not find the back of the net courtesy of some good work from the Indian defence.

The deadlock was broken by Great Britain immediately in the second quarter when midfielder Sarah Jones got a lucky breakthrough as she took a penalty corner. GB struck yet again in the same quarter Sarah Robertson perfectly found the back of the net to put pressure on India. However, India struck back when star defender Gurjit Kaur scored a drag flick to restore her team's hopes. 

In a dramatic turn of events, the Indian women's team found the equaliser in the half-time itself and it was Gurjit Kaur yet again by successfully converting a penalty corner. Just a couple of minutes before the second quarter ended, forward Navneet Kaur seemingly missed the back of the net but, Vandana Katariya showed a great presence of mind as India took the lead by scoring their third goal. 

Great Britain found that much-needed equaliser as defender Hollie Pearne-Webb scored one by taking a shot from the front of the goal. 

The Brits took the lead in the fourth and final quarter when defender Grace Balsdon scored off a penalty corner. India could have found an equaliser had it not been for a simple miss near the goalpost which was not to be as GRB players celebrated after the final whistle blew.