SMILING FACES

GWALIOR: Tamil Nadu was third time lucky as it clinched the title by overcoming a stiff challenge from underdog Uttarakhand in the 58th National volleyball championship at the Laxmibai National University of Physical Education court here on Wednesd

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Tamil Nadu, the runner-up in the last two editions, emerged as the champion with a 25-18, 25-20, 32-34, 25-16 victory in the men’s final.

Railways defeated Kerala 25-22, 25-16, 25-15 to bag the women’s title for the second time in a row.

Aided by Shelton Moses and K.P. Shaheem’s fine blocking, Tamil Nadu pocketed the first two sets comfortably. However, Uttarakhand sprung a surprise by regrouping well in the third set and taking an early lead.

Tamil Nadu made desperate attempts to catch up as the players of both sides got engaged in a heated exchange of words. Ranjit Singh plotted some impressive moves and captain Avnish Yadav dished out a few smashes as Uttarakhand won the cliff-hanger.
More determined



Neverthless, Tamil Nadu spikers were more determined in the next set. Shaheem scored the winning point through a good block. “In the third set, our blocking was not done well and we made mistakes in reception as well. However, winning the championship is what matters and we have done it,” said Tamil Nadu coach G.E. Sridharan. Tamil Nadu had last won the Nationals in 1995.

Veteran Uttarakhand player Subba Rao had this to say after his side finished as the runner-up. “In the first two sets, our reception was poor. It did not help our cause against a set team like Tamil Nadu,” he said.
One-sided affair


The women’s final was a one-sided affair. Kerala blockers, led by captain Tiji Raju, did a decent job in the first set. However, Railways players showed better coordination among themselves to sail smoothly in the next two.

For the winning side, K.T. Betsy blocked well, while libero Priyanka Khedkar put up her best performance of the championship.

“Throughout the match, we always tried to put pressure on Kerala as we we’re aiming at breaking their combinations. Thankfully, it worked well,” Railways’ chief coach Meena Mahalingam said as the players huddled to celebrate their 25th title win.

Haryana and West Bengal won the third place playoff matches in men’s and women’s sections respectively.

The results:

Men: Final: Tamil Nadu bt Uttarakhand 25-18, 25-20, 32-34, 25-16; Third place playoff: Haryana bt Kerala 25-22, 12-25, 29-27, 25-17.

Women: Final: Railways bt Kerala 25-22, 25-16, 25-15; Third place playoff: West Bengal bt Andhra Pradesh 25-7, 25-17, 25-10.