The experienced pair of Kasi Viswanatha Raju and Ravinder Reddy pulled off a coup of sorts by stunning the defending champion duo of T. Naresh and M.C.H.R. Krishnam Raju 12-21, 27-25, 15-10 in the men’s final of the Velammal-National beach volleyball championship here on Sunday.
Earlier, the host had something to cheer in the women’s category as Hemamalini-Narmadha outplayed Andhra Pradesh’s Maheswari and Santhi 21-19, 21-17 in the summit clash.
Though the crowd got considerably thinned for the men’s final, the clash became a seat-edge thriller in the third and deciding set. When Naresh-Raju won the first set with ease, it was a no-brainer as to who would bag the Sivanthi Adityan Trophy. But Kasi-Ravinder put paid to those hopes with a wonderful display in the second and third sets. In a close second set which could have gone either way, the Kasi-Ravinder pair played through their skins to win the second on its fifth set point, when Kasi served an ace.
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Generally, known for their attacking instincts, Naresh and Raju started to get nervous which resulted in several unforced errors in the third set.
The Kasi and Ravinder duo, having played in two Asian Games and 10 Nationals (with different partners), proved there is no substitute for experience. “This is our first title as a pair in three Nationals. It was our experience and the fitness factor that helped us,” said Ravinder.
The women’s final was watched by a packed holiday crowd cheering the Tamil Nadu pair for every point.
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Hemamalini used her vast experience as a setter and Narmadha was consistent with her smashes and drops. There was panic in the Tamil Nadu camp when the AP duo fought back from 19-16 to 20-19 in the first set. The second set was relatively smooth. Both the winner and the runner-up in both the sections will represent India in the Asian Games.
It was announced that S. Vasudevan, President of Tamil Nadu State Volleyball Association has been nominated as Vice-President of Volleyball Federation of India.
The 2014 Senior National volleyball championship will be held in Chennai from December-January 2015.
The results: Men: Final: AP 3 (S. Ravinder Reddy & Kasi Viswanatha Raju) bt AP 1 (T. Naresh & M.C.H.R. Krishnam Raju) bt 12-21, 27-25, 15-10; Semifinals: AP 1 bt TN 4 (wild card) (Mohan & Balamani) 21-14, 21-15; AP 3 bt TN 1 (Sivabalan & Dhamodaran) 11-21, 21-16, 15-10.
Women: Final: TN 1 (B. Hemalatha & P. Narmadha) bt AP 1 (Maheswari & Santhi) 21-19, 21-17; Semifinals: AP1 bt Kar 1 (Mallika Shetty & S.T. Nalina) 21-6, 21-15; TN 1 bt Ker 2 (Aswathy & Anuja Tomy) 21-8, 21-11.