Chennai: Even neutral observers would admit that there was harmony in Tamil Nadu’s performance in the final of the 62nd senior national volleyball championship against Uttarakhand on Sunday.
Everything fell in place for P. Sundaram’s team. Choosing the man of the match from the Tamil Nadu ranks wasn’t an easy job because there were four contenders: setter M. Ukkrapandian, attacker M. Naveen Raja Jacob, blocker G.R. Vaishnav and all-rounder C. Jerome Vinith. Libero S. Kanagaraj, attacker V. John Christopher and blocker G.S. Akhin also played their part but they hadn’t been as influential as the above-mentioned quartet.
There was hunger in the Tamil Nadu side, even though there was no financial benefit for winning the national championship. Every member of the main six wanted the title badly.
Tamil Nadu’s mental strength came to the fore against Services in the semi-final, as they kept coming back from behind throughout the five-setter. A crisis is the real test to find out the mettle of a team. Tamil Nadu overcame the stern test posed by Services with flying colours.
Former national junior coach M.H. Kumara paid glowing tributes to the victorious Tamil Nadu team. The SAI coach from Bengaluru gives his analysis of Tamil Nadu’s performance overall and in the final in particular.
Serves win matches: I have always been saying that an effective service is integral to a team’s success. Tamil Nadu rode on their superior serving in the semi-final as well as the final. Ukkrapandian bailed TN out of a tight spot against Services in the decider. If not for the eight points on his serves, Tamil Nadu may have found it difficult to overcome a poor start.
Ukkrapandian’s floating jump serves destabilised Services’ defence. Even though Uttarakhand had fine short-ball spikers, they had no work because the team’s first pass was poor from start to finish.
Naveen used his power-packed jump serves to telling effect in the whole tournament. Safety first will not take a team anywhere. Without disturbing first pass of the opponents, it’s difficult to win a volleyball match.
India’s biggest problem in international events is poor serving. We must concentrate on the crucial area to win medals at the Asian Games and the Asian championship.
Setter supreme: I feel Ukkrapandian was at his best in the semi-final and the final. The setter used all his resources well in the final. If his feeding was excellent, his serving was extraordinary. I’m not at all surprised that Ukkrapandian was selected the best setter of the tournament.
Naveen in top form: I haven’t seen Naveen play so well after his outstanding performance for India at the world juniors in Pune five years ago. He excelled in all departments. There was sharpness in his attack and purpose in his serves. A powerful server like Naveen should be encouraged to go for broke.
All-rounder Vaishnav: The blocker was in superb touch in the final. Blocking was his strength when he started off. Now he packs astonishing power in his smashes. Above all, I was pleasantly surprised to see him bang in jump services. Without a doubt, Vaishnav is India’s best blocker at the moment.
Future perfect: Jerome Vinith and Akhin never looked like they were playing in their maiden nationals. It’s important for Tamil Nadu to unearth youngsters with an eye on the future. In Jerome and Akhin, they have got two potential stars.
