Tamil Nadu bags silver medal in National Youth Volleyball

Although hurt at his team losing in the final to Rajasthan, the team’s coach G Dinakaran was pleased with the improvement shown by his boys who could finish only fourth at last year’s event. 

“We were placed in a tough group in the league stage. The group consisted of Uttar Pradesh, J&K, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand. It gave me a lot of satisfaction when we finished first in our group. We won all the league matches in straight sets, barring the game against UP, which we won in four sets. I was pleased with the overall dominance that my team displayed,” said Dinakaran. 

TN carried forward that streak of ruthlessness into its quarter-final match against Andhra Pradesh as it sewed up the contest in straight sets. It faced its toughest challenge in the last four stage when it squared off against a strong SAI outfit that had players from different states. 

“The semi-final was against a tough opponent and it was a see-saw match that went the distance of five sets. Despite there being a lot of pressure on them, my team once again played admirably to prevail in five sets,” added the coach. 

With confidence and momentum behind it, TN entered the final as favourite against Rajasthan. There was very little to separate the two teams as the first four sets were split. 

The deciding set, too, was a rollercoaster ride before Rajasthan held its nerve to seal the triumph. Rajasthan won the match 25-21, 21-25, 25-23, 16-25, 18-16. 

“It was a match that befitted its stature as final, but my major grievance was that the refereeing left a lot to be desired. A few critical decisions went against my team and that allowed Rajasthan to seize the initiative. 

Overall, I was happy with the performance of setter Aadishwaran and attacker Ashwin Raj, who did commendably throughout the tournament,” remarked Dinakaran.