Sports Reporter
Coimbatore: Two-one up for India. Two more to go. Will the Indian volleyball team shut the door on Pakistan or leave the series wide open to be decided in Hyderabad? Sunday will tell when the two teams clash, for the first time in this part of the region, at the Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya Indoor Stadium here.
Stefan G. Dimitrov, the head coach of the visiting side, hopes to level the series. “Our boys are very eager to do that. They are young and experienced and have sailed through similar situations before.” He says the experience gained so far is certainly going to help his team in tackling the Indians in the crucial fourth Test.
Open contest
The chief coach of Indian team, G.E. Sridharan, feels it will be an open contest. “Our boys played extraordinarily well in Chennai the other day. But, we cannot expect them to deliver all the time. The simple reason — they are going through a learning curve.”
He admits there will be some pressure on him as he is leading the side for the first time in front of his home crowd. “We are not really thinking about the result. We want to dish out the best for the gathering.”
The coaches of both sides are looking at the series as an exposure tour. “India is definitely a superior side. And, our boys have learnt their lessons as well,” says Dimitrov.
The players were given a traditional welcome on their arrival here by the Coimbatore District Volleyball Association, which is celebrating its golden jubilee year.
The teams: India: P.S. Srikant, Guruchand Singh, Vipin M. George, Shaheem, Sanjay Kumar, Jitendera Singh, Kapil Dev, Darshan Singh, Sube Singh, G. Pradeep, Shelton Moses and Sivarajan.
Pakistan: Muhammad Zaman, Muhammad Tariq Waseem, Naseer Ahmed, Muhammad Ismail Khan, Sanaullah, Kashif Mansoor, Bakthrasal, Mohib Rasool, Shah Faisal, Ali Abbas, Irfan Nawaz and Farooq Khan.
