BENGALURU: For India’s Asian Games contingent, it was the first of what everyone will hope is a long list of pleasant surprises. For Indian volleyball, it marked some light at the end of what has been a long tunnel.
In one of the best results in Indian volleyball in quite a while, the men’s team downed South Korea 3-2 in a thrilling encounter at the Linping Sports Centre Gymnasium in Hangzhou on Wednesday. For a scale of what an upset that is, India is ranked 73rd in the world while South Korea are 27th and silver-medallists at the 2018 Asian Games. In fact, so good have they been at this level that the last time they exited the Asiad without a medal was in 1962. In contrast, India has not won an Asian Games medal in 37 years.
On Wednesday though, all those numbers mattered for little as the Indians matched their opponents spike for spike, block for block. The first set, even though it eventually ended 27-25 in the Koreans’ favour, showed that India was up for the fight. They mounted a great comeback in the second, leading throughout and overcoming a minor hiccup towards the end to take it 29-27. The third set saw India dominating throughout. They built up a sizable lead right at the start and held it en route to a 25-22 score. The Koreans won the fourth set but India held their nerves to take the fifth 17-15, even saving a match point in the process.
The result is a huge boost for Indian volleyball, which, in recent years, had been dogged by factional fights, legal issues and irregular scheduling of tournaments. Even now, the sport in India does not have a governing body. The squad for the Asian Games was picked by an ad-hoc committee constituted by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
The committee had picked a relatively young squad with a couple of veterans. That combination of youth and experience worked wonders with the veterans taking charge of the situation whenever youthful exuberance threatened to fizzle out into nerves. One such instance was towards the end of the second set when India allowed Korea to close down a gap towards the end. In went 37-year-old setter Mohan Ukkrapandian and he promptly contributed to the lead being seized again.
“We had a very good match today,” Ukkrapandian told this daily. “We were very well prepared. There were many ups and downs, but we were encouraging each other throughout the game. We were telling each other that somehow we had to win the match, somehow we had to do better. And in the end, the boys did very well. We did today because of the unity in the team.”
Another treasure trove of experience at the team’s disposal is in the form of assistant coach, former India captain and Arjuna Awardee Tom Joseph. Tom believes the display was an indication of what India can do with the right kind of preparation. “We got nearly two months to prepare for the Asian Games,” he said. “There was the Asian Men’s Volleyball Cup during that period which allowed us to play a lot of matches against top opponents. Then, we were able to come to China on the 16th itself and get used to the conditions. In India, we don’t often play in air-conditioned arenas, so it was useful to train in such settings and get used to the balls as well.”
Tom also believes that the result is a huge confidence boost for the team. “Everyone contributed today,” he said. “We were able to read our opponents’ game, make tactical changes and implement it effectively on the court. If we maintain this level of performance, we can go a long way in the tournament.”