In the second semifinal, New Diamond made a valiant comeback, coming twice from a set down to beat Western Region 25-27, 26-24, 21-25, 25-19, 15-12. New Diamond skipper Ramila Tandukar was adjudged the player of the match. [break]
Western took the first set after in-form Manju Gurung earned one point with spike and two from service when the points were tied at 24-24.
After Western and New Diamond had won two sets each, New Diamond skipper Tandukar scored eight points in the final set to seal victory. New Diamond took a 5-0 lead as Tandukar earned three consecutive points. Pratibha Mali also scored four points in the deciding set. Western fought back to take the scores to 12-13, but Tandukar won two consecutive points with spike to wrap up the match.
In the first semifinal, host APF overcame Nepal Police in four sets. AFP took the first set 25-20 but Police won the second 25-18 to restore parity. However, APF easily won the third and fourth sets 25-12, 25-22. Saraswati Chaudhary of APF won the player-of-the-match award.
New Diamond coach Kumar Rai credited his side’s stubborn defense for the victory, while also expressing dissatisfaction over Tandukar’s inconsistent performance. “Tandukar could not play consistently and we came under pressure after losing the first set. But she improved in the later sets,” said Rai, who also acknowledged that his side’s blocking was weak.
Rai was also optimistic that his side could beat APF in the final if they played their natural game without getting nervous.
Western coach Kaushila Khatri said that her team was defeated after losing many points in block and defense. “We lost many points due to our own mistakes. We won points in difficult balls but we failed to score in comparatively easy ones due to lack of proper coordination,” Khatri opined.
Meanwhile, Police coach Sudesh Kumar Rimal pointed out the need for new players in the squad. “We have not been able to perform well in recent days. We also don’t have good reserve players, so we should seriously consider enrolling new players.”
APF coach Kapil Kishor Shrestha opined that his side could not win in straight sets due to the weaknesses of blocker in the second set. “We must improve our blocking to win the final and we will try not to repeat those mistakes in
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