Asian U-23 Volleyball Championships: India falter in the final hurdle and settle for silver

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Image Courtesy: Times of India

India had to settle for the silver medal in the Asian Men’s Under-23 Volleyball Championship after losing to Chinese Taipei in the finals on Sunday.

Image Courtesy: Times of India

Amit Gulia’s men started off in an unconvincing manner conceding the first set 21-25. The second set saw a much closer contest as the scores were neck to neck until the 20 point mark. After this, the Chinese Taipei boys took control of the game and clinched the set 25-20.

With Chinese Taipei having firm control of the game at this point, the Indians decided to hit back. The blockers were in fine form and were instrumental in winning the third set 25-19.

But the game never really slipped out of the grasp of Chinese Taipei. Following the blip in the third set, the boys despite being run close in the fourth held their nerve to win it 25-23. Thus they took home the gold, beating the Indians 25-21, 25-20, 19-25, 25-23.

“It wasn’t our best day in the office. But I am still extremely proud of the result. Yes, we would have loved to return home with a gold, but a silver is special for me as well as the young boys who worked extremely hard to reach this position. It’s been an extremely special journey,” said Indian coach Pritam Singh Chauhan after the finals.

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