KR College of Arts for Women from Gobichettipalayam came to the senior state volleyball championship in Chennai with the goal of “trying their best” to win the title. The presence of strong teams such as JBAS, St. Joseph’s and Panimalar tempered PKR’s ambitions. In the end, though, reputation didn’t matter much as the Gobi team went on to claim the title against heavy odds. The champions were over the moon because it was the private college’s maiden crown.
PKR coach K.Ananthakumar said his team’s co-ordination and excellent defence won them the coveted title. “I knew from the beginning that defence would be our trump card because we didn’t have explosive attackers. Having reached the semifinals last year, I only wanted my team to do well this term. The title wasn’t on my mind at all when the tournament started,” he added.
But things started to fall in place for the Gobi team.
JBAS from Chennai, overwhelming favourites for the title, fell to Panimalar in the quarters, kindling hopes in PKR in the process. “The loss of JBAS made me think that we might have a chance to go all the way. But then, we still had quality teams to deal with. Beating St.Joseph’s in the semis meant we were only a win away from realising our dream. We had lost to St.
Joseph’s, the eventual champions, at the same stage in the previous edition,” Ananthakumar said.
The final against Panimalar was by, no means, a walk in the park.
With attacker Narmadha firing on all cylinders, it appeared Panimalar had an edge. Ananthakumar, however, never lost his self-belief. “My girls reinforced my faith in them with a stellar performance in the third set.
Despite trailing 18-24, they fought all the way to lose the set 26-28. At that point, I knew we would become champions,” the coach added.
Sure enough, the PKR girls kept their nerve to edge out Panimalar in the decider for a famous win.
Ananthakumar said attacker Usha Priya, experienced setter Karthikeswari and libero Navya were at their best in the tournament. He expects two to three places for his players in the Tamil Nadu team, which is selected on the basis of the state championship.
Ananthakumar credited PKR’s success to the college’s sport-loving correspondent and secretary P.N.Venkatachalam.
“Without his support, we wouldn’t have come this far. PKR have been the champions of Bharathiar University for the last five years,” he added.
