Asian Under-23 Men’s Volleyball Championships: Pakistan sink Sri Lanka to extend winning run

KARACHI: Pakistan on Wednesday kept their glorious run intact when they recorded their fourth successive win after conquering Sri Lanka 3-1 in their first outing of the quarter-finals league of the 3rd Asian Under-23 Men’s Volleyball Championships being held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.

In Group E outing, Pakistan did a remarkable job by taming impressive Sri Lanka who had played tremendously in the preliminaries. Pakistan will now face Australia in their next game on Thursday (today).

If Pakistan beat Australia, they will be able to emerge as group leaders and will then face the lowest-ranked side of Group F in the quarter-final on August 9. Pakistan had a tight grip on the game against Sri Lanka who showed weakness in defence as the Pakistani smashers were ruthless in their approach.

After winning the first set 25-17, Pakistan, at one stage, were leading 18-8 in the second set. However, at that stage they got relaxed which gave opportunities to Sri Lanka to reduce the deficit. Pakistan showed grace afterwards and clinched the set 25-20.

Sri Lanka did a great job in the third set, winning it 25-21 to reduce the deficit 1-2. The fourth set was really an absorbing one with both sides going neck-and-neck. In the end, Pakistan kept their cool and showed discipline in all departments before lifting the set 30-28 to seal a well-deserved win.

Usman Faryad did a superb job for Pakistan both in defence and attack in the final two sets. Pakistan captain Fahad Reza was happy with the way his team handled Sri Lanka. “Sri Lanka was a good team. After wining two sets we got relaxed in the third set which we lost. However, in the fourth set we kept fighting and thank God won it narrowly to seal a solid win,” Fahad told ‘The News’.

He said that they would not underestimate Australia on Thursday. “Tomorrow we will try to beat Australia to emerge as group leaders. Tomorrow is a crucial day and we will put in our best. The way we have played so far I am confident we will qualify for the final,” said Karak-born Fahad.

Pakistan had won all three of their matches in the preliminaries against Qatar, Bahrain and Chinese Taipei to top Group C. Meanwhile, in another Group E show, Chinese Taipei defeated Australia 3-0 with the set score being 38-36, 25-23, 25-16.