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Teams from the state slide to defeat in the National volleyball league preliminary round I held in Nellore
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All in vain Teams in action
Three teams from the Twin Cities participated in the National volleyball league preliminary round I in Nellore recently.
They were South Central Railway, Secunderabad, Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP), Hyderabad and V.V.R. Volleyball Club.
None of the said teams made the grade for the final leg at Bargur, Krishnagiri district, Tamil Nadu.
From being a force to reckon with in the years gone by, teams from the state made little headway in the week-long league. The opening match of the tournament featured SAAP against Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Kochi. Comprising players drawn entirely from the Centre of Excellence (COE), located at the Lal Bahadur Stadium, SAAP hardly had the wherewithal to take on a side as accomplished as BPCL.
The said Hyderabad squad seemed overawed by the presence of several internationals in the rival side, proving to be no match for the experienced Kerala outfit.
SAAP had its share of internationals too, G. Kumar and K. Chandrasekhar Raju having represented the country in junior international championships, but came across as a side a shade too raw, lacking exposure to high level competition.
Be it in blocking or spiking, or for that matter in receiving serve too, the talented youngsters seemed to be all at sea against BPCL, the reigning champion, which went on to retain the coveted title soon after.
The inability to combine the three aspects of their game, saw SAAP finish at the bottom of the table.
In addition to the above-mentioned duo, Ranganath Krishna worked hard but in the end, it was all in vain.
VVR Club had its share of tall players, prominent among them being M. Kiran Kumar Reddy, a Nellore native, felicitated among five others hailing from the host district.
Kiran, a successful beach volleyball player, wasn’t in peak of form and indisposed subsequently.
B. Jampaiah, Saji Kumar, Sijju and Sajeesh contributed their mite, but the squad lacked cohesion to really take it forward.
On paper, South Central Railway seemed the strongest but made little impact.
It came across as jaded, lacking the will to put up a stiff fight. Its attack showed little variety, while its defence lacked the resolve to resist the blistering serves that came its way.
Watching these sides slide to defeat helplessly were Dronacharya and Arjuna awardees A. Ramana Rao, also the Volleyball Federation of India-appointed Chairman of the Control Committee that ran the league and Syam Sundar Rao, currently the National coach.
A. JOSEPH ANTONY
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