India crossed the first hurdle in their quest to make it to the World Volleyball Championship when they defeated Indonesia 3-2 in the inaugural match of the qualifying event in Chennai on Friday.
At one stage in the decider, India looked to be losing the match at 12-13, but P M Shijas and R Rajeev (both Kerala players) clinched the hosts victory at 24-26, 25-20, 25-23, 21-25, 15-13 in 100 minutes.
In the another match, China scored an easy 25-19, 25-15, 25-21 win over Thailand.
India struggled to check their opponents mainly because of their effective blocking and service while 'Libero' Josy Joseph was found wanting.
The Indian players also lacked coordination and they often failed to adjust to situations when the Indonesians attempted to slow down the pace. This also affected the rhythm of the players who are used to a fast and attacking game.
India lost the services of Tom Joseph due to an ankle injury midway through the second set. Abijeet Bhattacharya, Rathish and Shijas Mohammad were also contained to some extent by the
rivals, but every time they managed to smash from both ends India succeeded in scoring points.
After being level 2-2, the decider was most interesting. India led 5-2 but allowed the Indonesians to draw level at 6-8 before changing ends. The teams were going neck and neck till 12-12. Here, Rajeev served out to yield a point (12-13).
With Shijas making it 13-all with a superb smash close to the antenna, Rajiv made it 14-13. Nadarajan served for the match and Rajiv assured victory for India with a delectable drop in the vacant second zone.
