Varanasi, 8 January. Host Uttar Pradesh women created a new chapter in the history of the 72nd Senior National Volleyball Championship here on Thursday and reached the quarter-finals for the first time with a thrilling win over Odisha. But the hosts, who had reached the pre-quarters despite being undefeated in the league stage, could not cross the final hurdle of the playoffs and lost the challenge after being defeated by Indian Railways in a tough fight.
UP women’s team registers tough win over Gujarat before Odisha
Uttar Pradesh defeated Odisha 3-1 (25-23, 27-25, 23-25, 25-23) in the quarter-final qualifying of women’s category on the fifth day of the ongoing competition in collaboration with Varanasi Municipal Corporation at Dr. Sampurnanand Sports Stadium in Sigra.
The UP team, which won all its four matches in the Group C league round last night and secured its ticket to the pre-quarterfinals, reached the quarterfinal qualifying today with a hard-fought 3-2 (25-16, 23-25, 18-25, 25-15, 15-7) victory over Gujarat in a play-off match that lasted for two and a quarter hours in the morning, where it edged Odisha in the afternoon.
The main architect of UP’s victory against Gujarat and Odisha was setter Arya, who made brilliant ‘ball sets’ with the magic of her fingers. Attackers like Kajal and Priyanka took full advantage of their precise setting and unleashed powerful smashes on the opposition side. In defence, Libro Jansi showed incredible collections while at the net, Meena and Neelu thwarted the opponent’s attacks with their blocking. The main reason for the defeat of Gujarat and Odisha was their weak ball passing and poor coordination in the end.
There will be a clash with defending champion Kerala in the quarter finals.
With their entry into the quarter-finals, the UP women’s team has automatically qualified for the Federation Cup. The host women will now face defending champions Kerala in the first quarter-final on Friday. In other quarter-final matches, West Bengal will meet Haryana, Rajasthan will meet Chandigarh and defending champion Railways will meet Tamil Nadu, which defeated Himachal Pradesh 3-0 (25-15, 29-27, 25-12) in qualifying for the quarter-finals.
After defeating Uttarakhand, UP men lost a tough fight to Railways
On the other hand, in the five-set, hard-fought quarter-final qualifying in the men’s category, UP had to face defeat at the hands of Railways 2-3 (19-25, 25-2, 25-22, 21-25, 12-15). Earlier in the day, UP had defeated Uttarakhand 3-1 (28-30, 25-21, 25-23, 25-17) in the play-off match.
In the match against Railways, the powerful shots of Rajneesh Singh and Shaheed Alam and the all-round performance of Universal Suryansh from UP side kept Railways in trouble, but in the end the experience of Railways won. UP’s defense could not stand against Railways’ attackers Rohit, Shahid and Tanishq and blockers Sanjay Malik and Shubham. Universal all-round performance from Rohit ensured the victory for Railways.
Quarter final lineup of men’s category decided
Railways will now meet Haryana in the quarter-finals on Friday. In other quarter-final matches, defending champion Rajasthan and defending runner-up Services will face each other while Jharkhand will face Punjab and Tamil Nadu will face Kerala. Kerala defeated Karnataka 3-0 (25-17, 28-26, 25-18) to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Guests boosted the players’ enthusiasm
On the fifth day of the eight-day championship, there was a gathering of stalwarts from the world of politics and sports. Chief guest BJP State President Pankaj Chaudhary and former Union Minister of State Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey got introduced to the players and encouraged them. On this occasion, Urban Development and Energy Minister AK Sharma, Vice President Suresh Singh, MLC Ashwani Tyagi, Jagdish Patel, MLC Dharmendra Rai and Indian Wrestling Association President Sanjay Singh ‘Bablu’ appreciated the sports skills of the players.
Apart from this, Vidyasagar Rai, Congress leader Anil Srivastava, Kashi Journalist Association President Arun Mishra, DRM Ashish Jain and Organizing Committee Chairman and Mayor Ashok Kumar Tiwari reached the court and introduced the players and wished them for their bright future.
Schedule of quarter final matches to be played on Friday
men’s class
- 12.00 noon: Haryana vs Railways.
- 2.00 pm: Services vs Rajasthan.
- 4.00 pm: Jharkhand vs Punjab.
- 6.00 pm: Tamil Nadu vs Kerala.
women’s section
- 12.00 noon: Kerala vs Uttar Pradesh.
- 2.00 pm: West Bengal vs Haryana.
- 4.00 pm: Rajasthan vs Chandigarh.
- 6.00 pm: Railways vs Tamil Nadu.
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