In the first semifinal held on Friday, Gyanu Baba defeated New Diamond Academy of Kathmandu 25-11, 25-23, 25-22 in straight sets. Despite her side´s defeat Salina Shrestha of New Diamond was declared the player of the match.[break]
New Diamond, captained by Ramila Tandukar, the winner of popular player of the year, received an overwhelming support against the local team. New Diamond´s coach Kumar Rai attributed his side´s defeat to poor service and defense. He, however, expressed satisfaction at the team´s performance.
Gyanu Baba coach Kaushila Khatri said that strong defense provided the base for her side´s victory. "There were experienced players as well and our power game and stubborn defense helped us achieve a straight sets win," Khatri said.
In the second semifinal between departmental teams, APF, the winner of Dhorpatan Cup, toiled hard to beat arch rival Nepal Police Club in five sets. APF won the first, third and final sets 25-22, 32-30, 16-14 after going down 20-25, 17-25 in the second and fourth sets. Nima Shrestha of APF won the player-of-the-match award.
Police manager Bharat Shah opined that his side lost due to weak defense. "We were forced to surrender due to weak defense line-up," Shah said.
Meanwhile, APF coach Kapil Kishor Shrestha has predicted the final to be highly competitive.
Police and New Diamond also will vie for the third place on Saturday.
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