Punjab attacker Hardeep Singh’s scintillating performance helped his side beat Haryana in a thrilling five-set encounter 27-25, 25-17, 21-25, 23-25, 15-13 in the 63rd senior National volleyball championship at the Nehru Indoor stadium here on Tuesday.
Having lost all its games, Haryana will have to go through the play-offs to secure a place in the last-eight.
In the opening set, it was a neck-and-neck affair before Hardeep and blocker Satnam Singh inspired the side to a 27-25 win.
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In the second, Haryana had a slight edge at 15-12, but let slip the advantage with a couple of missed serves, allowing Punjab to get back into the set. The latter wasted no time in winning the set and looked on course for an easy win before Haryana fought back in the next two sets.
For Haryana, skipper and all-rounder Sanjay Kumar, along with attacker Shubham Chaudhary, played with intensity to keep their side in the hunt. In the fourth set, the team staged a comeback from 16-19 down to level the contest 2-2.
However, Punjab prevailed in the decider, racing to an early lead and maintaining the momentum to win 15-13.
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The team took the second spot in Group A.
Earlier in the day, Andhra Pradesh (Group D) and Karnataka (Group F) defeated Chandigarh and Jharkhand respectively to qualify for the play-offs with an all-win record.
In the women’s section, last year’s runner-up Kerala defeated Tamil Nadu in four sets to top Group B. Maharashtra (Group C), Andhra Pradesh (Group D), Himachal Pradesh (Group E), and Telangana (Group F) were the other teams who made it to the play-offs.
Other results: Men: Railways bt Rajasthan 27-25, 25-22, 13-25, 25-20; Himachal Pradesh bt Assam 25-18, 25-20, 25-19; West Bengal bt Delhi 25-19, 20-25, 25-20, 25-21; Andhra Pradesh bt Chandigarh 25-17, 11-25, 26-24, 25-18; Telangana bt Maharashtra 25-15, 25-22, 25-13; Uttar Pradesh bt J & K 25-17, 25-23, 25-17; Puducherry bt Tripura 25-23, 25-21, 25-23; Karnataka bt Jharkhand 25-11, 25-16, 25-19.
Women: Jharkhand bt Uttarkhand 25-12, 25-16, 25-20; Andhra Pradesh bt Delhi 25-20, 16-25, 25-17, 25-16; Rajasthan bt Chhattisgarh 25-9, 27-25, 25-11; Telangana bt Puducherry 25-10, 25-7, 25-8; Odisha bt Madhya Pradesh 25-6, 25-17, 25-6; Maharashtra bt Chandigarh 25-13, 25-16, 25-21; West Bengal bt Karnataka 25-16, 25-17, 25-19; Punjab bt Uttar Pradesh 25-20, 20-25, 25-21, 25-19; Himachal Pradesh bt Gujarat 25-19, 19-25, 25-20, 21-25, 15-9; Kerala bt Tamil Nadu 25-8, 23-25, 25-12, 25-18.