The Hindu : Sport / Volleyball : Pakistan downs Canada, enters semifinals

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Wednesday, Aug 01, 2007
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Sport - Volleyball

Pakistan downs Canada, enters semifinals

S. Sabanayakan

VOLLEYBALL / Nigeria makes surprise arrival, loses to Bangladesh

— Photo: Sushanta Patronobish

TAKE THAT! Pakistan’s Ismail Khan fires a smash past the Canadian defence.

KOLKATA: Pakistan proved to be the better side against Canada in a Group B league game of the second Commonwealth volleyball championship at the Netaji Indoor Stadium here on Tuesday.

Pakistan defeated Canada 3-1 to register its second win in the four-team league and booked a semifinal berth. Joining Pakistan in the last four stage was South Africa, a fluent 3-0 winner against New Zealand.

The defeats meant both Canada and New Zealand went out of the tournament though the two would play each other in an inconsequential match. And Pakistan and South Africa will square up to decide the group champion.

Surprise

But the surprise of the day was the sudden arrival of Nigeria. The lone African team, said to have pulled out of the tournament after missing a flight, called up the organisers early in the morning, after landing at Mumbai. The team thereafter took the morning flight to Kolkata and reached at about 10.30 a.m.

The Control Committee of the tournament decided to allow Nigeria to participate after all the teams in Group A agreed to play the African challenger. Consequently, the fixture underwent a change for the sixth time! Clarifying the organisers’ stand, Gautam Mohan Chakraborty, working president of the organising committee, said the tournament being an invitational one, there was no reason to keep Nigeria out of the fixture. “We have spend a lot of money in arranging accommodation for Nigeria and keeping the larger interest of the game and spectators, the Control Committee cleared the participation of that country,” he said.

The competition director, A. Ramana Rao, said the Nigerian team was returning after participating in the African Games in Algeria. “It went back home and immediately proceeded to Nairobi to take the flight to Mumbai.

“The federation secretary-general was travelling with the team and had little time to communicate with us. Since the team has come all the way from Nigeria, we have decided to include it in the fixture,” he said.

The inclusion of Nigeria in the fixture meant that India and Australia would have to win against Nigeria on Wednesday to make it to the semifinals.

Rousing contest

A rousing contest ended in a whimper as a consistent Pakistan team had the last say against Canada. The second string Canadians, despite making too many unforced errors, continued to play aggressively.

“We are following the concept of our senior side,” said the team’s coach Georeges Laplante. “By cutting down on errors we could have got a better result but the ultimate aim is to follow the system in which our senior side plays.”

Pakistan’s defence looked solid in which the tiny libero Ashfaq Hussain stood out. He retrieved many a thunderbolt smashes and kept the play going. Imaginative setting by Irfan Nawaz and low-ball attacks of Pakistan upset the Canadians.

Dodds excels

Mark Dodds was the pick of the Canadian team both in attack and blocking. With skipper Brock Davidiuk excelling in setting, the North Americans played brilliantly at times but not always. Had Canada been consistent, the result could have been different.

After winning the first set easily, the South Africans came under pressure in the next two with the New Zealanders raising their game considerably. What proved decisive was the South Africans’ confidence born out of their victory over Canada in their tournament opener.

Nigeria, fatigued by a long journey and forced to play without proper rest, went through the motions against Bangladesh and lost 0-3 in a Group A league match.

The results: Group A: Bangladesh bt Nigeria 3-0 (30-28, 25-16, 25-23). Group B: South Africa bt New Zealand 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-22); Pakistan bt Canada 3-1 (25-21, 25-21, 16-25, 25-16).