Asian Club Volleyball | Reception, setting and blocking of Chennai Spartans are to be improved, states M.H. Kumara
Chennai Spartans coach MH Kumara has asserted that the players need to improve in reception, setting and blocking to excel in coming days. The Pro Volleyball team from India was knocked out of the Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship after losing the semi-final on Thursday.
After a historic run in the Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship in Taipei, the winners of the inaugural edition of Indian league Pro Volleyball – Chennai Spartans failed to get the final ticket as they were defeated 4-1 by Iranian side Shahrdari Varamin. The Spartans had started off on a poor note as they went down in the first two sets. However, they won the third one to make a strong comeback but eventually lost the next one to concede the match as well. The Pro Volleyball winners lost 23-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-27 to the Iranian side.
The Indian team also had a lead in the second set but some mistakes allowed the Iranians to dominate and get a two-set lead which made the way difficult for Chennai to go ahead in the Championship.
“For instance, in the second set when we were leading 9-5, we let them secure four points and draw level 9-9 because of reception errors,” Kumara said after the match, reported Sportstar.
“They referred for antenna touch. And from the video replays it was clear that the ball (hit by the Indian side and missed by the opposition) hadn’t touched the antenna. But the point was given to them. Reception, setting and blocking are to be improved,” he added.
Chennai Spartans is the first Indian team in the history to reach the top-four stage of the Championships. The team from India had defeated Vietnamese champions Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday to enter the semi-finals of the tournament.