The Hindu : Sport / Volleyball : TN, UP storm into semifinals

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TN, UP storm into semifinals

SHIMOGA: Tamil Nadu boys proved too good for Punjab and won 25-15, 25-16, 25-13 in the quarterfinals of the 32nd sub-junior National volleyball championship at the Nehru Stadium here on Friday.

Tamil Nadu came out aggressively and just did not give Punjab any leeway. If Prabhakaran was effective at the net, Bharanidharan and setter Manoj Kumar played equally decisive roles to not only blunt Punjab’s firepower but also dent the rival defence with ease. Punjab needed Narinder and Satnam to play to their potential but the duo faded against some robust blocking at the net.

Uttar Pradesh made it to the semifinals in both the boys and girls section. While the UP boys outplayed Manipur 25-15, 25-12, 25-7, the girls laboured to a 25-20, 25-21, 25-17 win over Rajasthan.

Host Karnataka backed by a vociferous crowd and riding on southpaw Govinda Swamy’s brilliance in the forecourt beat Rajasthan at 25-9, 25-22, 25-14. After wrapping up the first set at nine, Karnataka made a series of mistakes to give Rajasthan the edge. But with some tight defence and positive play at the net the host levelled scores at 21-all and took the game without much ado. In the decider, Chetan and Preetham too joined in the attack to take the match away from Rajasthan.

The results ( quarterfinals): Boys: Tamil Nadu bt Punjab 25-15, 25-16, 25-13; Uttar Pradesh bt Manipur 25-15, 25-12, 25-7; Karnataka bt Rajasthan 25-9, 25-22, 25-14; Haryana bt West Bengal 15-25, 25-14, 25-22, 25-17. Girls: Uttar Pradesh bt Rajasthan 25-20, 25-21, 25-17; Tamil Nadu bt Andhra Pradesh 25-16, 25-23, 25-21; West Bengal bt Haryana 25-13, 25-20, 25-15. — Special Correspondent

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