The Hindu : Sport / Volleyball : A chance to watch the talent base

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Saturday, Jan 20, 2007
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Sport - Volleyball

A chance to watch the talent base

Principal Correspondent

KOTTAYAM: One look at the semifinal line-up in the recent Senior Nationals would give an indication of how strong the South Zone is in women's volleyball. Two of the semifinalists, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, were from the zone while champion Railway was packed with players from the South.

The South-West inter-university women's volleyball championship, which begins at the Mahatma Gandhi University Campus here on Saturday and the all-India event at the same venue after that, will offer a glimpse of where the stars are all coming from. It will also offer a peep into how these talented girls are fine-tuned for the country's big stage.

Kannur and Madras won the top two positions in the all-India and South-West events last year. This time, with the championships coming to Kottayam, the fight is expected to be a lot closer with host Mahatma Gandhi, Kerala and Calicut also in the fray for the trophies.

"We were stronger last year, we had attacker A.J.Sreeja but now she has moved to the Western Railway," said the Kannur coach Balachandran. "Still, if we combine well, we should win." The team has three players — P.J.Jomol, Josmi Paul and Princy Joseph — who helped Kerala finish runner-up at the Raipur Nationals a few days ago.

The host Mahatma Gandhi, a former all-India champion with eight players from Changanassery's Assumption College, bowed out in the South-West quarterfinal last year but is a stronger side this time.

The championship will be held on three courts, two at the university campus and the other at the B.K. College (Amalagiri) nearby. Sixty eight teams will figure in the South-West event with the final four of the first phase joining last year's semifinalists in the quarterfinals. The top four will also qualify for the all-India event along with four teams from the North-East Zone. The all-India championship will be held from January 28 to 30.

Match ends in draw

At Kozhikode, the match between Govt. Medical College and Govt. ITI in the Videocon Kozhikode District D division football league ended in a 2-2 draw on Friday. Udaya SC-Athanickal Brothers match was also drawn, 1-1.

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