The Hindu : Sport : Fighting Australia clinches title

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Sunday, Aug 05, 2007
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Sport

Fighting Australia clinches title

S. Sabanayakan

Creditable show by young Indians; Pakistan takes third spot

— Photo: Sushanta Patronobish

CHAMPIONS: The Australian team after it won the Commonwealth volleyball championship.

KOLKATA: Australia deservedly won the second Commonwealth volleyball championship crown quelling the spirited challenge of India 3-2 in the final at the Netaji Indoor Stadium here on Saturday.

Flaunting six Olympians, Australia won 25-18, 25-16, 24-26, 20-25, 15-11 in an exciting contest that spanned nearly 10 minutes short of two hours

Pakistan once again proved its superiority over South Africa winning the third place play-off 3-1 in an hour and 25 minutes, the sores being 25-10, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21.

The two best sides of the tournament dished out some superb rallies and combination play to the satisfaction of the record high crowd of 8,000. If Australia was on top of the first two sets, India roared back to win the third and fourth and lost focus in the decider.

Considering the experience and age of the Indians, it was a very creditable show against a good side.

All-out attack

Australia made its intentions very clear from the start going for an all-out attack. Playing to a plan, the Aussies kept up the lead throughout the two sets bringing India under constant pressure.

Serving powerfully and spiking with aplomb, the Aussies used their universal Paul Carroll to deadly effect in the first set. The highlight of the match was Matthew Young’s setting for Australia. The diminutive booster made even the poor reception look good with imagination and purpose.

Australia was all over India with captain Benjamin Hardy, the most experienced player, Carroll, David Ferguson and Luke Campbell, taking turns to spike down anything that was set up for them. Such was the team’s consistency in attack.

India’s first supply was very poor leaving setter K.J. Kapil Dev to turn and twist his body to get under the ball to set up attacks. Obviously the Indian attack moved in fits and starts and giving ample opportunity for Australia to pick up the first and second sets in 21 and 26 minutes respectively.

Cutting down errors

India needed to do something drastic to be in the game and there was a sense of desperation. The Indians cut down on unforced errors and did not allow Australia to take big lead.

Kapil made sure the Indian universal, Sanjay Kumar, was fed more than the normal and the well-built spiker did not disappoint. India jumped from 4-9 to 13-13, 20-20 and 23-23 before G. Pradeep killed a low ball to give India the lead.

Though Ferguson regained a point, India was unstoppable with Sanjay spiking twice to give India the set in 24 minutes.

The fourth set too followed the same pattern of the third but in this set the Aussies made too many errors and allowed India to be in the game. The inclusion of Mandeep Singh in place of P.S. Srikanth in the third set brought about a huge change.

The youngster got involved in the thick of things, be it in defence or in attack, he showed remarkable temperament. He retrieved some superb balls and when his turn came punched his smashes effectively to give India a lot of points.

India’s surge began when it moved from 20-18 to 23-18 and the momentum continued till the set was won in 24 minutes.

The Aussies, who lost to India in the group league match, delved deep into the reserves for one final fling at the Indians. Serving with power and displaying all the attributes of a champion side, Australia changed sides at 8-5 and maintained the lead throughout to win in just 14 minutes.

State Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, gave away the prizes.

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