The Hindu : IOB gets the better of CPT

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 29, 2002

Sport

Sport - Volleyball

IOB gets the better of CPT

By M.C. Raman

Tirupur April 28. Indian Overseas Bank, the 2000 Federation Cup winner and the hot favourite here, found the going tough in its opening Group `A' men's match though it managed to ward off a serious threat from Cochin Port Trust (CPT) at 25-16, 18-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-13 in the sixth National League volleyball championship at the Nanjappa School ground on Sunday.

Cochin Port Trust rallied brilliantly but lost its grip in the final stages, falling before the superior skills of its rivals.

After a brief ceremony in which the State Governor, Mr. Rama Mohan Rao, inaugurated the tournament and also expressed his appreciation on Tirupur's contribution to sports development, IOB made a brisk start and the Cochin side did not put up much resistance. Manjunath blocked well and Jobi Joseph and Harun Khan were the main spikers. Kumaran also lent support in attack and defence. IOB kept up the momentum till 7-3 in the second set and it looked as if CPT would cave in rather tamely. But that was not to be.

The whole complexion of the game changed as IOB began to relax. CPT's Biju Thomas and Sunil Kumar began to spike superbly. Gopan spiked the short ball well and the team quickly gained more ground to equalise at eight. Biju was the man behind the CPT surge as he successfully exploited the gaps in the rival block. CPT ran up a four-point lead and the IOB's defence was crumbling.

Rajesh should have been brought in for block, but IOB continued on the same vein and lost the set. Even in the third set IOB's defence was shaky as the team was not able to stop Biju and Sunil. This time CPT took a seven-point lead and the Chennai side was struggling for points.

At this stage, the IOB coach sent in Rajesh and Nadarajan and IOB did well in blocks and reduced the lead to 23-24. But IOB had already allowed too big a gap because of its lethargic approach. CPT tightened up its defence, retrieving every rebound and placement. Raj Vinod was the one who shored up the backcourt defence. The Cochin players resorted to placement from the second set onwards and that worked well. No wonder they could turn the match round quickly to take a 2-1 lead.

However, IOB managed to restore parity by taking the fourth set with better control in attack. Even its defence improved. It turned out to be neck and neck battle in the fifth set as they tied 10-all.

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