Nagpur U-18 spikers eye twin titles, U-21 lose in SF

Nagpur: Divisional teams from Nagpur and Mumbai advanced to the finals of the U-18 and U-21 boys' and girls' categories, respectively, in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Cup state-level volleyball tournament at Badlapur on Sunday. While the spikers from Nagpur and Mumbai eye twin titles, the teams from Kolhapur, Pune, Nashik and Latur divisions completed the final line-up.On the fourth day of the state volleyball tournament at Badlapur Gymkhana ground, host Mumbai division dominated the U-21 boys' and girls' group, while Nagpur teams made their presence felt in the U-18 categories.In the U-18 boys' category, Nagpur edged out Pune in a thrilling tie 25-13, 25-22, 30-32, 25-15 to face Kolhapur in the final. After taking a 2-0 lead, Nagpur suffered a close defeat in the third set. Nagpur's Vatsalya Kirtakar, Krishna Tadse and Karmanya Chilkulwar scored quick points to win the fourth set and enter the final. In the other semifinal, Kolhapur drubbed Latur 25-20, 25-13, 25-18.In the U-18 girls' category, Pune defeated defending champions Latur in straight sets 25-23, 25-20, 25-23 to face the challenge of Nagpur in the title clash. In the second semifinal, Nagpur edged out Kolhapur 25-23, 25-20, 24-26, 25-14.In the U-21 boys' semifinal, Nagpur spikers suffered a straight-set 20-25, 20-25, 14-25 defeat against Latur. Mumbai prevailed over Kolhapur 25-14, 25-20, 15-25, 27-25 to march into the final.In the U-21 girls' group, Nagpur division suffered a straight-set 20-25, 16-25, 23-25 defeat against Mumbai, while Nashik defeated Pune in a fiercely contested semifinal 17-25, 13-25, 25-14, 25-16, 16-14.