On the eve of the senior National beach volleyball championship, Krishnam Rajuwas speaking about the challengers. “Tamil Nadu-1 is a strong team,” he had said.
On Friday, the day two of the tournament, at the Kozhikode Beach, Raju and T. Naresh met V. Vivek Kumar & Vivek Raj in the preliminary league. Tamil Nadu-1 won 21-17, 24-22 in 50 minutes.
The two Viveks did play well, but their job was made easier by an injury to Raju. “I twisted my ankle in the first set,” he said. “But, I have recovered and am fit for the pre-quarterfinals.”
Tamil Nadu-1 and Andhra-1 have qualified for the knockout stage.
The other teams to make the grade are Uttarakhand (Chandar Singh Bisht & Chand Prakash), Telangana-1 (Ravinder & Krishna), Rajasthan-1 (Jagdatar & Ajay), Goa-1 (Ram Dhawaskar & Aron Pereira), Kerala-3 (Jithesh Kumar & Mohammed Swalih), Goa-2 (Prahlad Dhawaskar & Anil), Telangana-2 (Anand & Kishor), Tamil Nadu-2 (P. Siva Balan & S. Damodharan), Bihar-2 (Smith & Vivek), Andhra-2 (M.K. Raju & K.K. Reddy), Bihar-1 (Deepak Kumar & A.K. Keshav), Kerala-1 (Raheem & Sethu), Maharashtra (Preetam & Sagar) and Kerala-2 (E.K. Kishore Kumar & C.P. Sunil Kumar).
The results (preliminary league):
Men: Pool A: Tamil Nadu-1 bt Andhra-1 21-17, 24-22; Tamil Nadu-1 bt Puducherry-1 21-12, 21-19.
Pool B: Telangana-1 bt Maharashtra 21-11, 21-13; Maharashtra bt Kerala-4 21-18, 19-21, 15-7.
Pool C: Goa-1 bt Bihar-1 21-16, 21-13; Bihar-1 21-16, 21-13 bt Puducherry-2 22-20, 21-15.
Pool D: Goa-2 bt Chhattisgargh-1 21-11, 21-10; Bihar-2 bt Chhattisgarh-1 21-17, 18-21, 15-10.
Pool E: Tamil Nadu-2 bt Telangana-2 21-11, 21-12; Telangana-2 bt Andhra-3 21-19, 21-15.
Pool F: Kerala-3 bt Rajasthan-2 21-18, 21-18; Andhra-2 bt Rajasthan-2 21-14, 21-15.
Pool G: Kerala-1 w/o Rajasthan-1.
Pool H: Kerala-2 bt Chhattisgarh-2 21-6, 21-9.
Women: Pool C: Chhattisgarh-1 bt Kerala-4 21-15, 21-19; Tamil Nadu-1 bt Maharashtra 23-21, 21-16.
Pool D: Telangana-1 bt Chhattisgarh-2 21-15, 21-19.
On Friday, the day two of the tournament, at the Kozhikode Beach, Raju and T. Naresh met V. Vivek Kumar & Vivek Raj in the preliminary league. Tamil Nadu-1 won 21-17, 24-22 in 50 minutes.
The two Viveks did play well, but their job was made easier by an injury to Raju. “I twisted my ankle in the first set,” he said. “But, I have recovered and am fit for the pre-quarterfinals.”
Tamil Nadu-1 and Andhra-1 have qualified for the knockout stage.
The other teams to make the grade are Uttarakhand (Chandar Singh Bisht & Chand Prakash), Telangana-1 (Ravinder & Krishna), Rajasthan-1 (Jagdatar & Ajay), Goa-1 (Ram Dhawaskar & Aron Pereira), Kerala-3 (Jithesh Kumar & Mohammed Swalih), Goa-2 (Prahlad Dhawaskar & Anil), Telangana-2 (Anand & Kishor), Tamil Nadu-2 (P. Siva Balan & S. Damodharan), Bihar-2 (Smith & Vivek), Andhra-2 (M.K. Raju & K.K. Reddy), Bihar-1 (Deepak Kumar & A.K. Keshav), Kerala-1 (Raheem & Sethu), Maharashtra (Preetam & Sagar) and Kerala-2 (E.K. Kishore Kumar & C.P. Sunil Kumar).
The results (preliminary league):
Men: Pool A: Tamil Nadu-1 bt Andhra-1 21-17, 24-22; Tamil Nadu-1 bt Puducherry-1 21-12, 21-19.
Pool B: Telangana-1 bt Maharashtra 21-11, 21-13; Maharashtra bt Kerala-4 21-18, 19-21, 15-7.
Pool C: Goa-1 bt Bihar-1 21-16, 21-13; Bihar-1 21-16, 21-13 bt Puducherry-2 22-20, 21-15.
Pool D: Goa-2 bt Chhattisgargh-1 21-11, 21-10; Bihar-2 bt Chhattisgarh-1 21-17, 18-21, 15-10.
Pool E: Tamil Nadu-2 bt Telangana-2 21-11, 21-12; Telangana-2 bt Andhra-3 21-19, 21-15.
Pool F: Kerala-3 bt Rajasthan-2 21-18, 21-18; Andhra-2 bt Rajasthan-2 21-14, 21-15.
Pool G: Kerala-1 w/o Rajasthan-1.
Pool H: Kerala-2 bt Chhattisgarh-2 21-6, 21-9.
Women: Pool C: Chhattisgarh-1 bt Kerala-4 21-15, 21-19; Tamil Nadu-1 bt Maharashtra 23-21, 21-16.
Pool D: Telangana-1 bt Chhattisgarh-2 21-15, 21-19.