Australia Defeats India for Commonwealth Championships Title

"Australia fought off a spirited comeback by a gutsy India in a cliff-hanger five-setter final to take home the second men's Commonwealth Volleyball Championship here Saturday.

The Aussies won 25-18, 25-16, 26-24, 25-20, 15-11. The Aussies received the top prize of Rs.400,000, while the Indians got Rs.200,000.

Pakistan won the third place outplaying South Africa 25-10, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21.

The atmosphere was electric as sound of conches and swaying tri-colours set the stadium on fire. The 7,000 strong partisan crowd made its presence felt. The spectators cheered the home team vociferously, egging the players on.

In the first two sets, Australia brushed aside everything that India threw at them. Smashes, blocks, overhead passes and block smashes were dealt with consummate ease, and India did themselves no favour by being disorganised in zone two. The hosts often left big holes that Carrol and Hardy utilised with blockbuster spikes.

Such was the domination of Australia that in the first two sets only once did India put their nose marginally ahead when they led 6-5. With Srikanth flopping big time and Gurchand looking off-colour, the Aussies made merry.

India were further plagued by service errors. They lost the first two sets 18-25 and 16-25. At one stage in the second, Australia opened up an eight-point gap on the second technical time out at 16.

In the third set, India showed their true colours with Pradeep, Kapil and Mandeep combining superbly at the net and Sube coming in with some penetrative smashes to the baseline.

At 14-14, India broke free, taking the lead to 16-14 and then to 20-14 before Australia rallied with Ferguson, throwing up some fine blocks to level the scores at 24. India sealed the third set with a smash from Kapil to take it 26-24.

In the fourth set, India went for more over-head passes into the gaps than trying to match the raw power of Australia. The Aussies certainly showed a hint of tiredness with the power going out of Carrol's serves and a few serves going into the net.

On the other side, India unleashed Sanjay Kumar till now looking a little subdued. His trademark coup behind the first set of setters and probing smashes did the trick.

With the stage set for a fairytale comeback to take home the trophy, the hosts succumbed to pressure and some unforced error that saw them in the first two sets. India took the fourth 25-20 to set up the grand finale in the fifth set.

Buoyed by the silver streak in the last two sets, the Indian began the fifth set in style taking a 3-1 lead. But that was it. The Aussies came back with all their force. Carrol was again at his sublime best tearing apart the Indian defence with a barrage of smashes.

For India, a costly service error at 8-10 allowed the Aussies to stretch the lead to four points. With the final set for only 15 points, the gap was too big to overcome. The spirited Indian comeback was not good enough to break the Aussie girdle over the match.

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee presented the awards.

Individual awards:

Scorer: Sanjay Kumar (India), Spiker: Hardy Benjamin (Australia), Blocker: Subey Singh (India), Server: Nasir Ahmed (Pakistan), Setter: Daviduik Brock(Canada), Receiver: Chiya Freedom (South Africa) and Libero: Josh Classen(Canada). "

Reproduced from news.monstersandcritics.com/india/news/index.php/2

Final Scores: 25-18, 25-16, 24-26, 20-25, 15-11

For Championships final standings visit Volleyball Federation of India http://www.volleyballindia.com/current.htm