The Sri Lankan youth volleyball team ended up 5th at the Asian Youth Volleyball Championship held in Colombo.
After yesterday’s encouraging win against India which really went down to the wire and the hosts ended as victors winning the game 3 sets to 2, the young team stepped out today to play Korea for 5th position of the International tournament.
As yesterday the native boys didn’t get off to a good start. They once again looked stiff and seemed to be “playing on glue”. The first set was lost 21 points to 25. The Koreans looked very strong and it seemed like a game of catch up. Both teams put up a good fight in the end and the Sri Lankan team lost the set by just 4 points in the end.
In the second set the court all of a sudden looked like a launching pad or a trampoline in the Sri Lankan half of the court. The Lankans were quite literally air borne most of the time. They played an extensively aggressive breed of Volley. The spikes were timely and accurate and were delivered with immense strength which constantly broke through the defense of the Koreans. The set ended 21 points to 25 with the hosts making majority of it.
The game was still open for both teams as they had both won a set each. This set was going to prove crucial in deciding this game and the Lankans didn’t disappoint the crowd mainly made up of friends, family and well wishes. The 3rd set ended with a margin of just 3 points, Sri Lanka ahead. Final set score was 25 points to 22.
It seemed like Sri Lanka had bagged the 5th position but the Koreans thought otherwise. They won the set 23 points to 25, just a 2 point gap evading Sri Lanka of a 5th position win. It was most literally the best set of volleyball one could witness.
Volleyball in Sri Lanka being the national sport, one could wonder why it is weak in rankings and popularity in the country compared to sports like Rugby or Cricket. Many argue to abolish Volleyball as the national sport and to make Cricket the national sport of the Country. Well, these young men who battled it out today showed to the masses that volleyball is still alive and showed them the true native spirit of not giving up when the chips are down. They showed that Volleyball although might not be considered special to many, it is special to them.
The decider set was won by the Sri Lankans who played with so much fire and spirit. They threw themselves around and made sure no point goes to waste. The mistakes were at a minimal and opportunities were taken. The Sri Lankans in my view stuck to the basics and as in any sport, the basics are what defines a winner and a looser. Sri Lanka emerged 5th in the Youth Asian Volleyball tournament beating Korea 23 – 21 and winning the game 3 sets to 2.
The Sri Lankan youngsters had a scratchy tournament where they found themselves held up against the wall at which instances they perished and in a few instances came from behind to show that the national sport of this country is still very much alive and kicking in the hearts and veins of these young lions.
