Ukkrapandian spikes Pakistan as India win thriller
India weathered a stirring fightback by arch rivals Pakistan to open their campaign in the 12th Rashid International Volleyball Tournament on a winning note at Al Shabab Club Hall in Dubai on Friday night.
In a match which lived upto the hyperbole of any sporting rivalry between the two giants in the sub-continent, Indian spikers brought the roof down with a powerpacked performance to win this high intensity clash by four sets to one 25-21 25-16 24-26 25-17.
Iran opened proceedings with a 3-0 win over Tunisia 25-18 25-20 25-18 while Lebanon defeated hosts UAE in a closely contested match which belied the 3-0 victory margin with scores of 25-22 26-24 25-19.
UAE disappointed after a promising start to the six-team tournament organised by the UAE Volleyball Association under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council.
They surged to a 5-1 lead and held the edge for much of the opening set until Lebanon grabbed the lead at 16-15. Despite the best efforts of spikers Rashid Ayoob and Mohammed Juma Marzook, UAE were playing catch up in the two opening sets before Lebanon ran away with the game in the third.
Jan Abeshadeed was outstanding for Lebanon in attack as were Evanov Kendrov and Nadir Faris with UAE appearing to lack spirit in the third set.
Skipper Bader Almanae attributed their performance to inadequate preparation although they had a training camp in Cairo and Ajman. “We trained for only two and half weeks. The team did very well despite the short preparation,” he said admitting the result could have been different if they had won the first set.
Having taken charge just one month ago, the UAE national coach Ahmed Zakaria is still finding the right combination. “We have a problem of server and blocker,” said the former Egyptian coach whose aim is to win the tournament but is focusing on long-term goals.
“My aim is to build a strong team and make UAE one of the top 10 teams in Asia,” said Zakaria who felt players lacked experience since this was their first international game in 10 months.
Lebanese assistant coach Essam Abojaodah lacked a good centre and blocker. “They started fast but we attacked their weak points,” he said.
Skipper Elyas Abeshadeed said they closed the game in the first two sets. “It’s a positive start for us and we hope to achieve a good position,” he added. The Lebanese team were also playing their first international in almost a year.
Ukkrapandian was the outstanding player for India who dominated the opening set though Pakistan led briefly 6-4 and 8-7. With veteran Sanjay Kumar, Balwinder Singh and Sube Singh playing a central in retrieving and blocking, Ukkrapandian formed a deadly strike force with Guruchand Singh.
They asserted their superiority in the second set by enjoying a seven-point cushion 19-12 at one stage which increased to 22-13 with Pakistan erring in their services
But they showed grit to come back in the third set with Ahmed Naseer and Abbas Zaheer earning them points with some powerful spikes marshalled by skipper Khan Muhammad Ismail.
However, after a tenacious struggle battling point for point a series of net errors by India saw Pakistan take a crucial 16-15 lead to launch their fightback. After a ding dong battle in which the scores were level at 22, 23 and 24, Pakistan finally secured the winning point by stout defending after a long rally.
But India rebounded in the fourth set surging ahead 12-7 16-10 18-13 20-14 and 22-15 to snuff out Pakistan’s hopes and seal victory after two and half hour thriller.
“We enjoyed the game and fought for every point,” said Pakistan skipper Ismail. Their coach Sabbatini Augusto blamed their defeat for bad services. “India had very good attackers and setters,” he said.
Indian coach G.E. Sridharan said they performed better on the day against a side whom they met for the third time this year. “It is always a tension match against Pakistan and they are equally good,” he said.
As four-time winners of the Rashid tournament, he said India were not under pressure. “We are using this as a preparation for the upcoming Asian Games,” said Sridharan whose team won the bronze medal at the Asian Championships held in Iran after 24 years.
“This has improved our confidence,” he said having begun preparations for the Games three months ago.
Saturday’s fixtures
4pm Lebanon v India
6pm Iran v UAE
8pm Tunisia v Pakistan