Fed Cup Volleyball: Punjab fights through Karnataka

Spilt services sapped Karnataka’s campaign, especially in the first two sets. In contrast, Punjab’s Hardeep Singh unleashed an ace that bounced off the rival turf untouched.

Published : Mar 14, 2018 20:57 IST , Bhimavaram

 Ashwal Rai of Karnataka smashes past Punjab blockers Ranjit Singh (first from right) and Rajvir Singh (second from right) during their Federation Cup volleyball tournament match at the Cosmopolitan Club, Bhimavaram on Wednesday.
Ashwal Rai of Karnataka smashes past Punjab blockers Ranjit Singh (first from right) and Rajvir Singh (second from right) during their Federation Cup volleyball tournament match at the Cosmopolitan Club, Bhimavaram on Wednesday.
lightbox-info

Ashwal Rai of Karnataka smashes past Punjab blockers Ranjit Singh (first from right) and Rajvir Singh (second from right) during their Federation Cup volleyball tournament match at the Cosmopolitan Club, Bhimavaram on Wednesday.

Punjab prevailed over Karnataka 25-21, 25-19, 18-25, 21-25, 15-9 in its men’s group A match of the Federation Cup volleyball tournament, at the Cosmopolitan Club, on Wednesday evening.

Spilt services sapped Karnataka’s campaign, especially in the first two sets. In contrast, Punjab’s Hardeep Singh unleashed an ace that bounced off the rival turf untouched.

The northern side was better with receiving too, often opportunistic to prop the ball over into vacant spaces on the opponent’s half. More importantly, it manoeuvred the early interception to a huge advantage, when its boosters set up splendid spiking possibilities.

READ: Federation Cup volleyball: AIU gets the better of Haryana

Karnataka reaped the dividends in the third when it followed suit, Sujith Kumar’s crosscourt smashing from front left supplementing Anup D’Costa’s hits from the right. The latter’s retrieval of the ball zipping beyond the scorer’s table to set up a scoring chance verged on the spectacular. The strapping all-rounder was adjudged best player of the contest.

The southern squad was mostly at the receiving end in the fourth too, leading in spurts but never quite dominant. Even on those few occasions, it couldn’t quite shake off its frailty with the serve. Amidst the slip-ups, Karnataka captain A. Karthik’s jump and top-spin serves stood out. Despite being down by two sets, Karnataka clawed its way back to stretch the contest into the decider.

Punjab sped off to 8-3 in the closing set, Gagandeep’s ace coming, as a shot in the arm in the winner separating itself from the loser. In the churn that the court became, Punjab’s players were better positioned too, finding themselves more often in the right place, importantly at the right time. Later in the evening, Railways women crushed Andhra Pradesh 25-12, 25-6, 25-7.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment