Pakistan’s volleyball team in cold waters
Pakistan’s Volleyball Team is attending the 12th Al-Rashid Men’s International Volleyball Championship in United Arab Emirates (UAE) this week. The campaign started on 8th October, 2010 and invited teams from Pakistan, India, Lebanon,
Tunisia, Egypt and home-team UAE.
Pakistan entered the competition with an ambition to shake off their bad impression. The team has been down with a poor performance in the past and formed a stubborn reputation. The Pakistan Volleyball Federation (PVF) made some major changes in the squad
and prepared the team to fight in the Rashid Championship. Tragically the team lost its first match against their all-time rival India on 9th October, 2010. The hard-luck still lingered on the team and they couldn’t avail their second set. Pakistan
battled with Lebanon on the next day but lost the match after five-set thriller. Lebanon posted 3-2 (19-25, 25-22, 25-21, 20-25, and 16-14) win over Pakistan and pushed them under the clouds of uncertainty.
Opening Set
Under the command of new Captain, Muhammad Ismail Khan, Pakistan’s team started out really well in the first set. They formed good offensive combination and earned early points in the match. Lebanon was equipped with strong players and put up good fight.
Pakistan had the advantage of expert middle blocker and wing spiker who contributed quick points in their score. Pakistan led the game at first technical timeout and launched their power on the Lebanese side. They easily extended their lead and took to the
verge of victory in first set. Pakistan was happy to see their strategy and game plan working perfectly against Lebanon. They achieved 25-19 victory over Lebanon in opening set.
Second Set
The loss of first set forced the Lebanese strikers to retaliate. They hit back to the Green-shirts in the following set and tried to reverse the same score. Pakistan was charged up with the fresh victory in first set and demonstrated superb action in the
second set. Lebanese team kept on trying to get the control of operations and gradually raised their score. The bruising encounter continued and took different turns at various points but the situation remained undecided until the final moments of the game.
Lebanon hit impressive shots and got an edge near the match point. Pakistanis stood firm in their shoes but couldn’t help the second set. Lebanon posted 25-22 victory and brought the game to an even point (1-1).
Third Set
The third set was really demanding for both teams. The two teams showed their hunger for success by producing killing aces and steady shots. Third set imitated to a point-to-point fight and continued with great pace. Lebanon used its best hitters and attacked
Pakistan’s defence line. The green shirts missed two shots, which created a perfect opportunity for Lebanese to score valuable points. The long-tiring battle ended in Lebanon’s favour and they thrashed 25-21 victory over Pakistan in third set.
Fourth set
Lebanon disturbed the balance of the game with third set victory and built a lead. Regardless of their supremacy, Pakistani players responded to Lebanon’s strike in fourth set. The team played with great rhythm and tone in order to take their pride back.
Pakistan hit wonderful spikes and forced Lebanon to play another set. Pakistan won the fourth set with a score of 25-20.
Final set
The match was tied at 2-2 in the fifth set. Lebanon led the game with a score of 8-6 in final decisive set. Nadir Faris and Jan Abshadeed formed good combination and stormed p**i-side with convincing hits. Pakistan counter attacked and hit 4 consecutive
points to break the lead. But Lebanon bounced back and once again built the lead of 12-10. The see-saw battle continued and Lebanon finally edged Pakistan at 16-14. Pakistan’s team fought bravely but somehow, couldn’t bag success.
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