In a bitter-sweet day for India at the opening day of the Asian Games, the men’s volleyball team started their campaign with a 3-0 win over Cambodia, while the men’s football team lost 1-5 against hosts China. Despite the best efforts by the Blue Tigers, they could not avoid a big defeat against the world No. 80 team. As for the volleyball team, they had the best possible start in the competition.
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India makes winning start
The team put up a dominant performance to outclass Cambodia 3-0 in their opening match on Tuesday. India comfortably defeated lower-ranked Cambodia 25-14, 25-13, 25-19 in a Pool C match. But a stern test awaits India on Wednesday as they are up against world No.27 South Korea, the other team in Pool C. A total of 19 teams are participating in men’s volleyball at the Hangzhou Games.
In other matches of the day, Kazakhstan edged past Kyrgyzstan 3-2, and Japan beat Afghanistan 3-0. Pakistan also got the better of Mongolia 3-0 in a one-sided match. Meanwhile, India has won three Asian Games volleyball medals till now. Their best performance came in 1962 when they were runners-up. India’s other two medals were bronze won in 1958 and 1986, the last of which came 37 years ago.
Rahul KP’s goal in vain as China beat India 1-5
A severely fatigued and under-prepared Indian team got a rude reality check with hosts China out-muscling them 1-5. Giao Tianyi (17th min), Dai Weijun (51st min), Tao Qianglong (72nd and 75th minute), and Hao Fang (90+2) scored for the hosts, while Rahul KP’s (45+1 minute) equaliser from an acute angle was possibly the best strike of the match.
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It was heartening to see a third-string team holding the title contenders on an even keel during the first 45 minutes, which saw Indian custodian Gurmeet Singh Chahal valiantly save a spot-kick taken by rival captain Zhu Chenjie. India now needs to beat Bangladesh and Myanmar in their remaining two games to qualify for the second round. Myanmar beat Bangladesh 4-2 in another game in this group.
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Editors pick
