Men volley team in semis, eves beat Maldives; men win in Kabaddi

Colombo, Aug 25 (UNI) Defending champion India thrashed Bangladesh in straight sets in their last Pool A encounter to book a semifinal berth in the Volleyball tournament of the 10th SAF Games at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium here today.

India completely dominated the proceedings for a facile 25-12, 25-22, 25-12 win.

The Indian spikers had little problem against the minnows from Bangladesh who struggled against the Indian power hitters who were fed well by the setters. They also found going difficult against the rock solid Indian blocking. Siva Rajan excelled in the Libero's role and barring minor hiccups, it was a cohesive show by the Indians.

After conceding the first set, Bangla players did show some sense of urgency in the second and their case was helped by a hint of complacence among their opponents. But the Indian players woke up before it was too late and dashed any hopes of a Bangla revival before walking away with the third set to seal the issue.

Their female counterparts mauled Maldives 25-9,25-10 and 25-9 and will meet Sri Lanka in their last match on Sunday.

Meanwhile, in their last league match, Indian men's kabaddi team beat Pakistan by 23 points at the National Youth Centre at Maharagama today.

India raced to a 28-8 lead after the first half but they relaxed the grip a bit in the second, allowing Pakistan some space but even that was good enough for a 40-17 win for the Indians.

UNI AY DH HS1613