Christopher John was in fine nick as India upset defending champion Brazil 36-34, 22-25, 21-25, 25-17, 16-14 in the FIVB World junior volleyball championship at Rio de Janeiro on Sunday night.
India's victory, its first in the championship's second phase, spoiled the host's chances of entering the semifinal.
But despite the stunning victory, the World No. 7 finished last in its four-team pool, Group ‘F', and will now fight for the fifth to eighth positions with Brazil, Iran and Spain.
Argentina, the World's top-ranked team, and Serbia took the top two spots in the group and entered the semifinals along Russia and the USA, the top two finishers of Group ‘E'.
“I wish we had played this way against Serbia, so we would face Brazil with chances of qualifying,” said M.H. Kumara, the Indian coach. “We had nothing to lose and the team played better. John played a great match, as well as both setters (Ranjit Singh and J. Thennarasan), who were helped by our great receiving.”
Christopher John, the 19-year-old outside hitter from Tamil Nadu, had a great match indeed and was India's top scorer with 23 points while Dhanabalan Selvaprabhu, also from Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan's Katariya Lavmeet contributed 13 and 11 points respectively.
With Serbia jolting title-favourite Argentina, World No. 6 Brazil was under pressure for it needed a victory.
pls accept sharad pawar/srikanth/rajiv shukla/lalit modi/kiran more etc for target practice from india as a rakhi gift. pls ensure that you fire 300-400 rounds on each person ...no shipping charges from you . we will deport them at our expense....
Guys, why the resignation? Didnt aussies at their peak lose in India 2001? Anyone can lose a series. And dont forget all the absentees and injurie list. EVen the guys who played(tendulkar,sehwag) had some niggles. Plus no warmups to get used to conditions. This is the same team that matched up to Aussies at their peak(even in 2008, lost due to umpiring), while England were getting trashed in all ashes series. And let England win in India before boasting they are No1. CAn they counter our spinners in our backyard. Let them do that before claiming they are the best. We still are No1, and the english fans should learn some humility, and the few Indian fans should stick by their team in bad times as well
Re: Anyone can have a bad series!
by Christy Uthup on Aug 13, 2011 10:42 AM
Cricket is a serious matter women should not play or even comment on it Womens cricket should be renamed. Any suggestions ?
Re: Anyone can have a bad series!
by ravi on Aug 13, 2011 10:49 AM
its good to support our team but at the same time you should question their approach to this series. Apart from Praveen and Dravid entire team hasn't shown any grit (you can exclude dhoni last innings) i dont' mind them losing but for goodness sake show some fight..you guys are playing for country..have some pride..And for all Sachin fan's who'll forever live in denial you've to accept that his cause always surpasses the team causes. As Nasser Hussain questioned why did sachin didn't skip IPL and not West Indies series.. How much more he want to earn?
Re: Re: Anyone can have a bad series!
by NBen TS on Aug 13, 2011 11:22 AM
he is a hypocrite buddy, never care about the nation, shed only crocodile tears when needed.
Re: Re: Re: Anyone can have a bad series!
by rahul sharma on Sep 08, 2011 02:05 PM
our board is making money only future planing is zero.Nobody is god in any sort of game.there should be at least 3 practice match to get the batsman conffidence.
It a result of good planning by BCCI manipulating results ensuring a lot of matches against Sri Lanka and keeping certain umpires happy. Do you see this team winning against Bangladesh if they have three bowlers who can consistently get the ball above chest level ? Do see this bowling attack get any team out unless the pitch spins square ?
There is always ups and down don't worry India. Boycott not appraising India when India continuously won the Test and One day match under Doni and Sourav
