Khelo India 2019, Volleyball: Tamil Nadu, West Bengal girl spikers swap favors in semifinals

Pune, Jan 18: Tamil Nadu and West Bengal swapped favors in the semifinals of the girls' volleyball competition of the Khelo India Youth Games at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex here on Friday. The former winning through to the gold medal match of the under-21 event at West Bengal’s expense and the team from the eastern State returning the favor in the under-17 draw.

In the semifinals of the girls' under-21 section, Tamil Nadu got the better of Bengal 25-20, 25-21, 25-21 and was joined in the title round by Kerala, who blanked hosts Maharashtra by a similar 3-0 margin, 25-19, 25-18, 25-22.

The second match was a well-contested one with the Maharashtra girls keeping up with their taller rivals for long periods but in the end, Kerala’s experience helped to set up a final against long-time rivals, Tamil Nadu.

In the girls' under-17, West Bengal beat Tamil Nadu 25-8, 25-20-25-9 to set up a meeting with Maharashtra for the gold medal after the hosts ousted the strongly-favored Kerala 25-23, 25-18, 22-25, 15-25, 15-11 in a pulsating encounter that went on late into the evening.

Another close clash came in the boys' under-17 section where Gujarat was taken to four sets by Kerala before winning 25-22, 23-25, 25-15, 25-13. They take on Uttar Pradesh for the gold medal on Saturday after the latter ousted Tamil Nadu 25-14, 25-20, 25-22.

Results (semifinals):

Boys' under-21: Kerala beat Punjab 25-22, 26-24, 25-16; Karnataka beat Maharashtra 25-19, 25-18, 25-22.

Girls' under-21: Tamil Nadu beat West Bengal 25-20, 25-21, 25-21; Kerala beat Maharashtra 25-19, 25-18, 25-22.

Boys' under-17: Gujarat beat Kerala 25-22, 23-25, 25-15, 25-13; Uttar Pradesh beat Tamil Nadu 25-14, 25-20, 25-9.

Girls' under-17: West Bengal beat Tamil Nadu 25-8, 25-20, 25-9; Maharashtra beat Kerala 25-23, 25-18, 22-25, 15-25, 15-11.