POKHARA, Feb 9: The men's final of Srijana Invitational International Men's and Women's Volleyball Tournament will be an all-departmental clash after Tribhuvan Army Club and Nepal Police Club booked their places for the summit clash on Thursday.
Army overcame the challenge of host Western Region 3-1 in the semifinal on Thursday to fix final meeting with departmental rival Police which had overcame Armed Police Force (APF) in another semifinal on Wednesday.
APF lifts national women’s volleyball title
In the last four clash played at Pokhara stadium's volleyball court, Army defeated host team Western Region 25-20, 16-25, 25-13, 25-20. Army's Man Bahadur Shrestha was declared man-of-the-match.
Army's head coach Jagdish Bhatta said that his players making mistakes in the second set prevented the team from wining the match in straight sets. “Western Region is also a very strong team,” said head coach Bhatta. He also said that he is hopeful of beating Police in the final. “We have seven national players so making different strategy than today, we can beat them,” added Bhatta. Army had beaten Police in straight sets in the final of Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) Volleyball Championship recently. Meanwhile, Western Region's head coach Krishna Thapa said that his team lost the match despite playing well.
Now Western Region will take on APF in the third place play-off on Friday.
New Diamond in women's final
New Diamond Academy reached the final of women's event of the tournament registering 25-19, 25-17, 17-25, 25-11 win over Western Region on Wednesday. Defending champion New Diamond will now face Armed Police Force (APF) in the title clash on Saturday.
New Diamond's head coach Kumar Rai praised the performance of his players after pulling the semifinal victory. “My players played well today. They kept playing calmly until the end of the match despite losing the third set,” said head coach Rai. He also said that the outcome of the final match will depend on his key player Pratibha Mali's performance.
“Pratibha brings highest points for the team so the result will depend on how she performs in that match,” added Rai.
Western Region's head coach Kaushila Khatri pointed out poor preparation behind the exit from the competition. “We made the team collecting players from different places and we couldn't conduct enough training in order to set the team,” said head coach Khatri.
Western Region and Police will battle for third place on Friday.
