Tamil Nadu signalled its intentions of defending its title emphatically by blowing away Kerala 25-15, 25-16, 25-16, in the semifinals of the 63rd senior National volleyball championship here on Saturday.
The host looked flawless and finished the match in about 55 minutes as Kerala had no answer to TN’s onslaught. It will now meet Railways — which defeated Rajasthan — in the summit clash on Sunday.
For the host, attacker M. Naveen Raja Jacob was the standout performer as he used his brute force to land heavy smashes to which the Kerala players could barely get their hands to. He rarely missed an attacking return through the match.
Setter M. Ukkrapandian was in top form too, setting up beautifully for TN attackers Jacob and John Christopher to complete the job while blocker G.R. Vaishnav continued his impressive form in the tournament.
After some issues with its serves in the previous games, TN looked to have gotten on top of it with skipper and all- rounder D. Selvaprabhu in particular being spot on.
According to Jacob, it was a sweet payback after Kerala thrashed TN in straight sets in an invitational tournament in Bengaluru just prior to the nationals.
In the other semifinal, Railways was hardly stretched as it got past Rajasthan 25-19, 25-20, 25-21. It got off the blocks well and always looked in control. All-rounder Manu Joseph and attacker S. Prabagaran were relentless from the beginning to put their side in the final.
Ace setter K.J. Kapil Dev used all his experience and guile to come up with deft drop shots at the net that left the opposition with no answers.
In the women’s section, the script followed an expected pattern as Railways and Kerala made it a repeat of last year’s finals with easy wins over Tamil Nadu and West Bengal respectively.
Railways never looked in any trouble with most of its players contributing to the side as it streamrolled past the hosts with little trouble. Blocker M.S. Poornima was effective at the net while, Priyanka Bora and Ansuri Ghosh took care of the offence with some aggressive smashes.
For Tamil Nadu, attacker P. Narmadha was the only player who looked to provide some resistance.
In the other semifinal, Kerala made short work of West Bengal as it coasted to a 25-17, 25-14, 25-14 win in a match that lasted just a little over an hour.
The results (semifinals): Men: Tamil Nadu bt Kerala 25-15, 25-16, 25-16; Railways bt Rajasthan 25-19, 25-20, 25-21.
Women: Railways bt Tamil Nadu 25-17, 25-20, 25-17; Kerala bt West Bengal 25-17, 25-14, 25-14.
