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Australia will be the team to beat
Special Correspondent
KOLKATA: The eastern metropolis is all set to host the prestigious second Commonwealth volleyball championship. Seven teams, including the favourites Australia, have landed and went through the practice session with all seriousness this evening. Sri Lanka is expected to reach here on Saturday morning and Nigeria, the lone African challenge, is arriving on Sunday, the opening day of the tournament that promises of some high-voltage action.
Indian coach confident
Australia looks the strongest and compact side of all. Yet, the Indian coach, G.E. Sridharan, is quietly confident of his wards doing well.
When asked how he saw the other teams in the group, the coach said he was upbeat with his team’s current form and felt Australia could be a tough team to beat. ``But we will try our level best to perform against the Aussies,”’ he said.
As per the revised fixture, India will open its campaign against Bangladesh on Sunday.
The grouping: Group A: Australia, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Bangladesh and India.
Group B: Canada, Pakistan, New Zealand and South Africa.
The fixture: July 29: India vs Bangladesh ( 2 p.m.), Canada vs South Africa (4 p.m.), Australia vs Sri Lanka (6 p.m.). July 30: Pakistan vs New Zealand (2 p.m.), Australia vs Bangladesh (4 p.m.), India vs Nigeria (6 p.m.). July 31: South Africa vs New Zealand (12 Noon), Nigeria vs Bangladesh (2 p.m.), India vs Sri Lanka (4 p.m.), Canada vs Pakistan (6 p.m.). August 1: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (2 p.m.), Australia vs Nigeria (4 p.m.), Pakistan vs South Africa (6 p.m.). Aug. 2: Nigeria vs Sri Lanka (2 p.m.), Canada vs New Zealand (4 p.m.), India vs Australia ( 6 p.m.). Aug. 3: A-4 vs B-4 (7th/8th places) (12 Noon), A-3 vs B-3 (5th/6th places) (2 p.m.), A-1 vs B-2 (1st semifinal) (4 p.m.), B-1 vs A-2 (2nd semifinal) (6 p.m.). Aug. 4: Loser of match A1/B2 vs Loser of match B1/A2 (4 p.m.), Final (6 p.m.).
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