KATHMANDU, May 5: Shivam New Diamond Academy suffered a 3-1 loss at the hands of the departmental team Nepal Police Club in the ongoing KNP Japan National Women’s Volleyball Tournament on Friday as the losing team played without lifter Kripa Adhikari, who joined Nepal Army.
New Diamond, a top contender in any tournament in women’s volleyball, this time looked sluggish against Police without Adhikari. She joined the army as second lieutenant on April 26.
“We felt the absence of our regular lifter Kripa and the new players lacked experience. We did not have backup players as well,’’ said New Diamond head coach Kumar Rai. “Mainly, we faced problems in block and the new players could not perform according to the plan.’’
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At the Covered Hall of the National Sports Council (NSC) in Tripureshwar, Police beat New Diamond 25-12, 16-25, 26-24, 25-19.
New Diamond skipper Lalita Nath said that Adhikari’s absence clearly showed lack of confidence in the team. “We lost to a normal team as we failed to maintain coordination among the players which was not expected at all. We could not do well in block, receive and spike,’’ Nath added, “We lacked confidence and self-belief in her absence.’’
Police had secured a final place in 2016 defeating New Diamond in the second edition of the tournament. And, the departmental team couldn’t beat New Diamond in any competition after that.
Police head coach Bharat Shah said that the good combination between the players helped them grab a win over New Diamond. “We always faced problems with block in recent times and we have improved that now. And that helped in the overall performance of the team for the win,’’ Shah added.
In the other match played on the same day, the other departmental team Armed Police Force overcame Jawalakhel Volleyball Training Center in a straight set of 3-0. Armed Police saw off Jawalakhel 25-3, 25-6, 25 -7.
Armed Police will take on Western Volleyball Association, while Police will face the other departmental team Tribhuvan Army Club in the other match on Saturday in the tournament organized by the Sher Bahadur Memorial Foundation.
The winner of the tournament will take home Rs 150,000, while the runner-up will be rewarded with Rs 100,000. The third-placed team will bag Rs 50,000. Likewise, the best player of the tournament will be prized with Rs 10,000 and the best blocker, the best server, the best defender, the best libero and the best coach will be given Rs 5,000 each.
