India beat Pakistan to qualify for U-23 Asian Championships final
The Indian under 23 men’s volleyball team created history by qualifying for the final of the Asian Championships for the very first time. The Indian side defeated arch-rivals Pakistan by 21-25, 25-16, 25-22, 25-18 to set up the summit clash against Chinese Taipei in the tournament in Myanmar.
It was a great day for Indian volleyball as the men’s under 23 team went past their neighbours Pakistan in four sets to qualify for the finals which will be played on Sunday. The team, by qualifying for the final, have also made it to the under 23 World Championships.
After going a set down, the Indian under 23 side made an excellent comeback to win the next three 25-16, 25-22, 25-18 to march into the final of the tournament in Myanmar. Chinese Taipei has defeated Japan in the other semi-final of the continental event. Amit Gulia led the Indian team as they dominated three successive sets after a slow start.
India had reached the semi-finals for the first time by beating Australia in the quarter-final battle of the Championships while Pakistan had defeated Kazakhstan to make it to the top four. India had defeated China and Kazakhstan and lost to Japan in the group stages.
“For us, every opposition is the same. Our objective is to win and proceed to the next challenge. We knew our strengths and we stuck to them despite being down 1-0 after the first set,” coach Pritam Singh Chauhan told PTI.
“The kind of comebacks these boys have made in the tournament goes on to show how mentally tough they have become in their campaign. As a coach, I cannot ask for more. I am extremely confident that whatever little errors they made today will be ironed out by tomorrow.”
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