IOB retains trophy
Updated by Sporty India
Chennai:The annual P. John Memorial tournament — conducted by Nellai Friends — is an event the volleyball fraternity in Chennai eagerly looks forward to. The tournament is in memory of a self-less promoter of volleyball who was also a strong votary of kabaddi and basketball. However, John’s passion was volleyball and he ensured that the state-level tournament was elevated to an all-India competition.
Several sponsors have been associated with the cause supported by John to provide a platform for a minor sport such as volleyball. And for the last two years, Panimalar College of Engineering has been at the vanguard. The director of the college, C. Sakthi Kumar, is a huge supporter of the project that also includes an annual coaching camp. He also presented a new trophy for the tournament this year, which had a fair representation from the country. The tournament also had a Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) Youth team, coached by former India player and National coach, G. E. Sridharan.
Indian Overseas Bank, Chennai, retained the Daily Thanthi Trophy for men. In a lacklustre final, IOB outplayed VFI Youth team 25-18, 25-22, 25-17. IOB, which suffered a shock defeat against Southern Railway in the opening game, recovered to enter the final. The team was well served by Natarajan, who was proficient in spiking and mid-court play. While Ukkrapandian was outstanding in service and blocking, the best of the lot was the National star Naveen Raja Jacob. Southern Railway took the third place, beating BPCL 25-22, 25-22, 18-25, 25-21.
In the women’s section, Western Railway beat Southern Railway 25-19, 25-21, 18-25, 15-25, 15-11 to win the trophy. Dr. Sivanthi Club took the third place followed by Alphonsa College, Palai (Kerala).
Special prizes were awarded to the following: Setter: Kapil Dev (Southern Railway), Blocker: Vaishnav (VFI), Libero: Kanakaraj (VFI), Attacker: Natarajan (IOB), and All-rounder: Naveen Raja Jacob (IOB).
The Tournament Committee, headed by Mr. Tamizh Vendan of Customs and assisted in the technical conduct by former international Chitrapandian, deserves a word of praise for completing the schedule despite facing several problems like power failure and long drawn out matches stretching well past midnight.
The Tournament Committee felicitated former internationals, V. Baskaran (hockey) of Southern Railway and Nagesh (football) for their contribution to sports.
