The Hindu : Sport / Volleyball : AP pips Delhi in a thriller

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
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Sport - Volleyball

AP pips Delhi in a thriller

Principal Correspondent

VATAKARA: As he served an arch pass, Andhra Pradesh setter Raghu Rama Raju looked anxiously at his team's star spiker N. Ashok.

With chief setter Vamsee Krishna on the bench with a swollen knee, Raghu — Andhra's second booster — suffered a few tense moments as he tried to settle down and serve to his teammates' tastes and fancy.

In the end, after a 100-minute thriller, Raghu let out a yell of relief as Andhra Pradesh pipped Delhi 3-2 at the ninth National youth volleyball championship here on Tuesday. Andhra Pradesh won 17-25, 25-12, 25-23, 20-25, 15-8.

With three wins from as many encounters, Andhra is on course for a quarterfinal berth from men's Group C.

The AP women, however, had no such jitters. They, along with last year's runner-up Karnataka, entered the quarterfinals even before playing a match as Gujarat, the other side in the three-team Group `B', failed to turn up for the championship.

The results (league):

Men: Group A: Tamil Nadu bt Goa 25-17, 25-20, 24-26, 22-25, 15-13; Karnataka bt West Bengal 25-19, 25-17, 25-10; Jammu & Kashmir bt Goa 25-14, 25-22, 25-20.

Group B: Kerala bt Chhattisgarh 25-18, 25-19, 25-13; Manipur bt Bihar 25-23, 27-25, 25-23; Himachal Pradesh bt Bihar 25-23, 19-25, 23-25, 25-13, 16-14.

Group C: Andhra Pradesh bt Delhi 17-25, 25-12, 25-23, 20-25, 15-8; AP bt Tripura 25-14, 25-11, 25-13; Haryana bt Jharkhand 25-22, 20-25, 25-22, 25-20; Haryana bt Madhya Pradesh 25-21, 25-21, 16-25, 22-25, 15-12; Delhi bt Jharkhand 25-16, 25-23, 25-20; Delhi bt MP 18-25, 25-16, 25-14, 25-20; Madhya Pradesh bt Tripura 25-14, 25-13, 25-9.

Group D: Rajasthan bt Maharashtra 25-21, 25-19, 25-15; Rajasthan bt Uttar Pradesh 25-19, 22-25, 25-22, 25-19; UP w.o. Nagaland; Orissa w.o. Gujarat; Orissa w.o. Nagaland; Maharashtra w.o. Gujarat. Group D: Orissa bt Maharashtra 25-23, 26-24, 17-25, 25-23.

Girls: Group A: Himachal Pradesh bt Jharkhand 25-11, 25-12, 25-7 (Kerala & Himachal qualify for quarterfinal).

Group B: Karnataka w.o. Gujarat, AP w.o. Gujarat (Karnataka & AP qualify for quarterfinals).

Group C: West Bengal bt Maharashtra 25-17, 25-18, 25-8; Maharashtra bt MP 25-10, 25-16, 25-13.

Group D: TN bt Bihar 25-5, 25-6, 25-11; Chhattisgarh bt Bihar 26-24, 25-19, 28-26 (Tamil Nadu & Chhattisgarh qualify for quarterfinal).

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