Nagoya, Sep 28 (PTI) The Indian men’s volleyball team edged past Hong Kong, China in a Pool C preliminary round match for its second consecutive win at the Asian Games here on Monday.
India prevailed 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-21), raising their level at crucial moments to close out a match in which Hong Kong kept up the pressure for long periods.
India, who began with a 3-0 win over Vietnam, will next face Qatar on Tuesday.
Hong Kong were particularly effective with their attacking play from the right flank, finding ways to trouble the Indian defence and remain in contention despite India holding the lead for much of the contest.
India head coach Dragan Mihailovic said the team was “still looking for a good performance”.
“We had lots of small mistakes. The problem is a little bit mental. The Hong Kong guys were making some easy mistakes, but we cannot, as a serious team, expect that somebody will be giving mistakes for us to win the game,” said the coach.
“So we need to be focused on our work. And even if they are not on a very good day, we need to do our job and finish this quickly.”
The coach said they are hoping to do better than the 2023 Hangzhou Games wher the team finished sixth.
“The goal is to make it better than the last time in China. The team came sixth, and we have a very good chance to have a good game in the quarterfinal and be in the semifinal. I hope we can be in four,” he said. PTI APS KHS PM APS PM
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