Bangladesh survive nail-biter to lift volleyball title

Bangladesh lifted the title of the Bangabandhu Asian Central Zone U-23 Men's International Volleyball Championship with a 3-2 sets win over Kyrgyzstan in a pulsating final at the Shaheed Suhrawardi Indoor Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.

The men in red and green, who had beaten Kyrgyzstan by three sets to one in their group encounter, needed a decisive fifth set this time around, but staged a strong comeback after trailing by two sets to one.

Coached by Iraninan Alipour Aroji, the hosts started strong and won the first set 25-18 with some brilliant performances from Sadi Mohammad Shafin, Titas Ahmed, Ratul Halder and Redwanur Rahman.

But their momentum dwindled thereafter as Kyrgyzstan dominated the next two sets with perfect blocks and smashes to take them 15-25 and 22-25 respectively.

However, bolstered by the cheer of a home crowd from the gallery, Bangladesh bounced back to take the fourth set 25-19 thanks to fresh hands of Ismail Hossain Sajib, who was later adjudged the man of the final.

In a nail-biting fifth and final set, Bangladesh took a five-point lead, but Kyrgyzstan showed their character and fought neck-and-neck to force two deuces before Bangladesh took the final set 18-16, winning the trophy for the first time at this level.

"We made some silly mistakes, like faulty receiving, erratic blocks and some others mistakes that we usually don't make in matches. But confidence and proper plan kept us in the match," Redwanur Rahman said, adding that they were also contending with the pressure of a final.

"We lacked communication after winning the first set because everyone thought that we were going to win easily lime we did in the group-stage match. But we had to face many challenges," Sadi Mohammad Shafin said, opining that the support from the gallery played a big role in the comeback.

Redwan, Titas Ahmed, Sadi Mohammad Shafin, Ismail Hossain Sabuj all were ecstatic to be part of the winning team. "It is the biggest-ever success for me. I can't express my joy in words," Redwan said. Titus added: "It is the first time that I have become a champion in an international tournament. I'm overjoyed."

Aroji, who termed the final one of his best, concluded: "Due to some tactical reasons, we trailed the in the second and third sets. But I made changes, sending Sabuj to the middle, and we dominated the last two sets," he said.