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Volleyball
By Our Sports Reporter
Recovering well from a slump in form in the third set, the Bengal boys turned things around to end Kerala's winning streak and top Group D in the Rangabharathi-sponsored 11th mini National volleyball championship at the GBR College courts here on Friday. Bengal won 17-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-20, 15-13. Kerala, which did not really impress in its earlier outings here, had a definite advantage going into this tie and understandably won the first set at a canter. Bengal, which finished fourth in the last Nationals, bounced back to claim the second set, thanks to some inept defence from the Kerala boys. In the third, Kerala seemed to have redeemed itself and with Bipin C and Sidhundev seemingly finding their bearings, it cruised along effortlessly. Leading 2-1, Kerala looked purposeful and ran up an early lead but West Bengal looked far from finished. The introduction of Bijoy Swarnakar proved the turning point as the bare-footed lad reeled points with some telling smashes and intelligent placements. Having bridged the lead, it was West Bengal which looked menacing with Somnath Dhara, Chiranjit Chatterjee and Sayan Sharma simply taking the set away from Kerala. In the decider, Kerala looked distraught and conceded too many negative points, while Bengal put up a solid defence and returned everything thrown at it. With the match as good as in its pocket, the Bengal boys became complacent allowing Kerala to make amends and recover from a 9-14 defecit to 13-14 before Dwarpur Tarka seized the final point with a piercing smash. As Group D winner, West Bengal will now run into Group B runner-up Madhya Pradesh, while Kerala clashes with host Karnataka. In the other quarterfinals, Uttar Pradesh, the reigning champion, meets Tamil Nadu and Haryana takes on Manipur. West Bengal girls too had a fight on their hands before prevailing 25-20, 18-25, 25-20 25-16 against Rajasthan for an all win record in Group A. Rajasthan, for whom it was the first defeat in three matches, also made it the quarterfinals as the runner-up in the Group. Haryana girls proved far too good for Karnataka and won with considerable ease at 25-8, 25-16, 25-5. Both the teams however advanced from this Group, as Madhya Pradesh, the third team in the Group, looked inadequate to the challenge. Karnataka's showing however left a lot to be desired and its further progress in the championship is unlikely as it meets a resolute U.P. in the quarters. Late on Thursday night, Goa pulled off a sensational win, its first in the championships, by beating Andhra Pradesh 25-20, 19-25, 25-19, 25-23. The quarterfinal line up: Boys: U.P. v TN; West Bengal v M.P.; Haryana v Manipur; Karnataka v Kerala. Girls: West Bengal v Maharashtra, U.P. v Karnataka, TN v Rajasthan, Haryana v Kerala. The results: Boys: Group A: Manipur bt Rajasthan 25-12, 25-11, 25-10; U.P. bt Assam 25-6, 25-11, 25-22; U.P. bt Jammu & Kashmir 25-13, 25-21, 25-17. Group B: M.P. bt Pondicherry 25-14, 25-9, 25-3; M.P. bt Chhattisgarh 25-10, 25-21, 25-15. Group C: TN bt Maharashtra 25-11, 25-14, 25-8; Haryana bt Tripura 25-20, 25-14, 25-4. Group D: Goa bt AP 25-20, 19-25, 25-19, 25-23; West Bengal bt Kerala 17-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-20, 15-13. Girls: Group A: West Bengal bt Rajasthan 25-20, 18-25, 25-20, 25-16; Group B: Haryana bt MP 25-9, 25-13, 25-9; Haryana bt Karnataka 25-8, 25-16, 25-5. Group C: TN bt AP 25-21, 25-10, 25-10; TN bt Maharashtra 25-10, 25-8, 25-20. Group D: Kerala bt Pondicherry 25-11, 25-17, 25-10.
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