The Hindu : India shocks Brazil

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 07, 2003

Sport

Sport - Volleyball

India shocks Brazil

By M.C. Raman

Suphanburi July 6. India played with tremendous spirit to beat the defending champion Brazil 25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 25-20 in Pool

`C' of the eighth World Youth (boys) volleyball championship at the Chaopha stadium here this evening.

This was the match that everyone was looking forward to. Brazil had played 40 international practice matches and India had hardly one. As the Indian coach G.E. Sridharan said it was for the first time that the Indian

team was taking part in this tournament and confronted Brazil for the first time in any competition. "We hardly knew about them. But my boys

did a great job. They combined well and showed tremendous spirit. At this level this is what that counts. There should not be any fear,'' said the Indian

coach.

The Brazil head coach Percy Oncken said after the match, "We never played India before. That of course, let us down. We should have known better. But our block was bad and the service was pretty bad.''

It was a great start for India as Rathish, Dinesh, Srikanth and Sanjay Kumar combined well in double block to put pressure on Brazil.

Brazil's serve went haywire. In every set, Brazil was giving away six or seven service points. More than the attack of Srikanth and Sanjay it was India's block that gave it more points in the first set. India took a five-point lead, but in the second it was close till 19-19 and then India broke away as Sanjay spiked brilliantly.

However, in the third set, Brazil made some changes and substitute Pinto shone in spiking and so was Alves. India despite levelling at 20, lost the third set. But in the tense fourth set, India took a two-point lead, but the team came under pressure as Srikanth fumbled. And setter Kamaraj also did some mistakes by feeding to the wrong players. That cost India the set.

But in the fourth India did not let go the two-point advantage and in the final moments, despite some bad referee decisions, made it with steady spiking and block.

Thailand defeated Venezuela 25-19, 25-19, 25-20, 25-10 in Pool A and this victory helped the host team a place in the next stage. Venezuela lost both its matches.

Iran beats Holland

The Asian domination in the championship continued as Iran beat the Netherlands 25-21, 25-21, 25-21 in Pool `D' with incredible ease.

Normally, European nations dominate the game with their power and height and the Asian countries have only played second fiddle. But for a change the Asian countries are not just putting the Europeans on the mat, but are slowly pushing them out of the contest. Only Russia looks strong enough to challenge them.

China, which looked a stronger team than it was in the Asian championship at Visakhapatnam, cut Slovakia to size after a shaky start on Saturday in Pool `B'.

Even though the Dutch looked menacing on court, Iran played sensibly. It mixed placements with deceptive spiking and above all did well in the block. The Netherlands, which outplayed Italy 3-1 on Saturday, found Iran's delicate touch game too much to cope with. Lorsheijd Lars, whose all-round performance steered his team to victory against Italy, had to leave the field. However, Rauwerdink Jeroen and Snippe helped Iran complete the demolition act.

Iran used its No. 2 setter Saeed and he not only set the ball well but also served strongly to notch up points at crucial stages. Iran frequently used the short ball and blocker Ranjbar was devastating in hitting them.

In every set, Iran consolidated its position with a lead of three or four points and slowly surged ahead. Even in the third set, Iran trailed but came back strongly when left-hander Salehi began to hit winners. Like India's tactics against Poland, Iran used the combination attacks to surprise the rival.

In a Group C match in which India figures, the Czech Republic fought brilliantly to down a hapless Poland 25-22, 25-18, 25-22. This victory helped the Czechs to remain in contention for the next round while Poland seems to be on the way out. What a way to make an exit for Europe's No. 2 team!

The Czech Republic, which played a loose game against Brazil on Saturday, tightened its game with Hrazdira Michael hitting excellent winners right from start to finish. Poland's attack was pathetic. Barring Marcel, none of the players were effective and the Czechs dominated in every aspect of the game.

At Silapa-archa stadium, Australia, the sixth qualifier from Asia, did well to down a fighting

Puerto Rico, No. 1 in North America, at 20-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-22, 15-10 in Group A. The Aussies, with two wins, seem to be heading for the No. 1 spot in the pool.

The results:

Pool A: Australia bt Puerto Rico 20-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-22, 15-10.

Pool D: Iran bt Netherlands 25-21, 25-21, 25-21; Netherlands bt Italy 25-23, 20-25, 25-22, 25-18; Iran bt Morocco 25-22, 25-15, 25-23; Italy bt Morocco 25-15, 25-15, 25-16.

Pool C: Czech Republic bt Poland 25-22, 25-18, 25-22; India bt Brazil 25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 25-20.

Pool B: Russia bt Egypt 25-17, 25-15, 25-23; Egypt bt Slovakia 25-22, 25-22, 29-27; Russia bt China 25-22, 25-15, 25-23.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport