Guj women script volleyball history

Ahmedabad: Gujarat women won their maiden crown at the 24th Youth National Volleyball Championship, in Sangli, Maharashtra. In the final on Sunday, a dominant Gujarat stunned traditional powerhouse Kerala 25-21, 25-19, 25-20 to clinch the gold medal.
To put the victory in perspective, Kerala are 16-time champions apart from being runners-up five times, while Gujarat had previuosly finished runners-up just once.In the 2017 edition in Jaipur, Gujarat had lost the summit clash to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) team.
The team was captained by Sandhya Rathod, with other members being Manisha Zala, Isha Jain, Anisha Chaudhari, Neha Prajapati, Nipa Barad, Priyanka Zala, Disha Vala, Devubala Chauda, Usha Vala, Mahek Pandey and Nirali Vala. In the final, Manisha and Nipa led Gujarat with 13 points each, while Anisha contributed 12 points. Captain Sandhya chipped in with five points.
Gujarat State Volleyball Association (GSVA) secretary Kamlesh Patel singled out Nipa, Manisha and captain Sandhya for their superlative performances. “Manisha, Nipa and setter Sandhya were outstanding throughout the tournament. In the finals, Anisha was excellent. Nipa too played a crucial role,” Patel told TOI.
The team along with the coaching staff celebrated the triumph by playing garba on the court. A 23-second video of this victory lap was shared by state sports minister Harsh Sanghavi on Twitter. Tweeting his victory message, Sanghavi wrote, “Congratulations (to) the champs. This is the result of your determination and hard work. Keep up the winning spirit.”
Terming it a great achievement, GSVA president N G Patel said, “This is a great achievement. This is the first time a women’s team from Gujarat has emerged champion in the youth national volleyball championship. Earlier, we had finished runner-up in 2017. Kerala is a great team. The result is beyond our dreams.”