Railways, Rajasthan, and Punjab from men’s Group A, and Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Services from Group B gained direct entry into the quarterfinals in terms of points aggregate in the Senior National volleyball championship being held at the Nehru indoor stadium here.
Himachal Pradesh beat Uttar Pradesh 3-1, and Andhra Pradesh beat Delhi 3-2 in the qualifiers to earn a slot each in the quarterfinals.
In the women’s category, Railways, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh qualified from Group A, while Kerala, Telangana, and Punjab progressed from Group B.
Andhra Pradesh had entered the tournament with a decisive gameplan. Greatly influenced by its collective inexperience as a team it had resolved to be at its most offensive, come what and who may. The strategy worked when it mattered the most; in the qualifier — a privilege that the last-placed teams from groups A and B were afforded to enter quarterfinals.
The results (Qualifiers for quarterfinals): Men: Andhra Pradesh bt Delhi 23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 20-25, 22-20; Himachal Pradesh bt Uttar Pradesh 25-21, 25-22, 19-25, 25-21. Women: Uttar Pradesh bt Punjab 25-22, 25-18, 28-26; West Bengal bt Rajasthan 25-18, 25-18, 25-14.
Points table: Men: Group A: Railways (8); Rajasthan (6); Punjab (3); Uttar Pradesh (1); Group B: Kerala (8); Tamil Nadu (4); Services (4); Andhra Pradesh (2).
Women: Group A: Railways (9); Maharashtra (6); Andhra Pradesh (3); West Bengal (0); Group B: Kerala (12); Telangana (9); Tamil Nadu (2); Punjab (1) .
