Volleyball Update: India defeats host-team in the 12th Al-Rashid Int’l Men’s Championship
The 12th Al-Rashid International Men’s Championship entered the fifth day on Tuesday, 12th October, 2010. The first match of the day saw hosts United Arab Emirates in a head-to-head battle with India. Out of six teams (Pakistan, India,
Lebanon, Tunisia, UAE, and Iran) in the championship, UAE has the most devastating run. They have been un-successful in their effort and failed to win any match.
On fifth-day, the two teams entered the court with high ambitions and staged good fight. Indian team was equipped with all necessary tools and techniques to overpower UAE. They exhibited great performance and dismissed UAE by sending a score of 3-1 (25-14,
22-25, 25-19, and 25-13). The battle continued for 91 minutes and ultimately India emerged on the scene with better status.
First Set
India opened the match with perfect serves and impressive delivery of shots. They easily picked up a lead and further enhanced their score with rapid speed. India was in control of operations, while United Arab Emirates was down with faulty serves. UAE played
the match under extreme pressure. They were facing a strong competitor in the court, and on the other hand, local crowd demanded a better performance from their team. UAE struggled to create a good impression but power-lacking spikes and illegal hits proved
major damage for them. India maintained fair lead in the first set and took the score to finish line without much effort. UAE lost the first set at 25-14 with a gap of considerable 11 points.
Second Set
The head coach of Arab team was upset with the shaky performance of his team. During the timeout, he instructed the team to closely look at the ball movement, in order to avoid ball-reception errors. The tempo of game changed in the second set as UAE tried
to overcome unforced mistakes. They paid more attention on their defence and barred Indian hitters from scoring points. Guruchand Singh of India produced good underhand shots but UAE was out of their influence. They hit back India with same intensity and made
a great come-back in the game. At one point, they were able to take lead over India. The shocking response from UAE surprised India but they couldn’t avoid the chances of defeat. UAE sparked on the scene and closed the set at 25-22.
Third Set
It was a very healthy move for UAE and they received huge applause from spectators. Nonetheless, India was all raged-up after dropping the second set. They attacked with Naveen Raja and led the score in third set. Naveen was an expert hitter and he created
much trouble for UAE’s blockers. Abdullah Saif of UAE showed great courage and stood in front of Indian hitters to stop the electrifying spikes. UAE fought well but failed to achieve success. India won third set by posting 25-19.
Fourth Set
India was back in business after winning third set. They wanted to quickly put an end to the game by winning fourth set. UAE-side relied on Rashid Ayoob to fight for victory. India took the game away from home-team by killing aces. Finally, they won fourth
set by 25-13 and pushed UAE behind. India declared match victory over UAE at their home-court.
In press conference Head coach of India said, "Performance of home team was good. In second set they showed themselves very well and got the set from us. Level of the championship is very high. I think four teams of IRAN, INDIA, TUNISIA and PAKISTAN
are top teams."
Head coach of UAE said, “Indian players are very tall for us. Their attack power is strong. When my players couldn't kill the ball, motivation of them was coming down."
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