The inaugural match of the Indian Volley League (IVL) between Karnataka Bulls and Yanam Tigers took place at Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium on Sunday, May 29th at 6.30 pm.
The publicity that the IVL took so much trouble for seemed to be of little use. The stadium, with a capacity of 4000, had about a 1000 odd people holding yellow balloons and waiting for the match to begin. In the meanwhile, dancers and musicians entertained the crowd with Bollywood numbers.
After salutations to Karnataka Maate with ‘Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujate’, sung by a group of young women in yellow and red sarees, K Nandakumar (Secretary of IVL) welcomed everyone enthusiastically, with all six teams lined up on the court. Home Minister R Ashoka lit the lamp at about 5.45 (the inauguration was originally supposed to take place at 5 pm with the chief guest being Chief Minister B S Yedayurappa). Ashoka released a bunch of yellow balloons, declaring that sports would be given more importance henceforth in the State Government plans.
Finally, with oohs and aahs from the impatient audience, the two teams entered the court and began a long warm up. The actual game – scheduled at 6 pm – started only at about 6.45. Karnataka Bulls, headed by T D Ravikumar, tried their best to keep up with Pondicherry-based Yanam Tigers, but had to call for repeated time-outs, with Head Coach Om Prakash infusing spirit into them after each one. The audience cheered, screaming, whistling and waving their yellow balloons.
Each time the players exited the court, four boys in red tees (with tags that said ‘Volunteer’ around their necks) mopped up after them, moving the mops across the floor in perfect straight lines, in complete unison, as though they had rehearsed for it!
The Yanam Tigers, on the other hand, seemed to be a strong team with a couple of good blockers and universals. Although the service changed sides quite often, they were consistent and beat the Bulls without much struggle.
Day 1 Results (29 May)
- Yanam Tigers beat Karnataka Bulls 3-0 (26-24, 25-18, 25-22, -, -)
- Maratha Warriors beat Kerala Killers 3-2 (26-24, 22-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-13)
- Hyderabad Chargers beat Chennai Spikers 3-2 (25-16, 22-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-12)
Day 2 Results (30 May)
- Maratha Warriors beat Yanam Tigers 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-21, -, -)
- Kerala Killers beat HyderabadCharges 3-2 (30-28 16-25 25-19 28-30 15-10)
- Chennai Spikers beat Karnataka Bulls 3-1 (20-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-19, -)
Day 3 results (31 May)
- Yanam Tigers beat Kerala Killers 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-15,-,- )
- Chennai Spikers beat Maratha Warriors 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-18,-,-)
- Hyderabad Charges beat Karnataka Bulls 3-1 (29-27, 30-28, 23-25, 25-16, -)
Day 4 results (1 June)
- Yanam Tigers beat Hyderabad 3-1 (20-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-22, -)
- Kerala Killers beat Chennai Spikers 3-0 (25-21 25-23 25-18, -, -)
- Maratha Warriors beat Karnataka Bulls 3-1 (17-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-23, -)
The six teams will play 15 games in Bangalore (until June 2), after which the IVL will move to Jawaharlal Nehru Multipurpose Indoor Stadium in Chennai (June 4 to 8). They will play 60 games altogether, finishing at the Lal Bahadur Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on June 24.
Today’s match schedule: Hyderabad Chargers vs Maratha Warriors,Chennai Spikers vs Yanam Tigers, Kerala Killers vs Karnataka Bulls
The closing ceremony is scheduled for today at 5 pm, with the chief guests including: Minister R Ashoka, H D Kumaraswamy (MP), S Harish (Deputy Mayor, BBMP), C N Ashwath Narayan (MLA), M C Sudhakar (MLA) and other politicians including Ambarish, P G R Sindhiya.
The detailed scores was provided by K Nandakumar of Indian Volley League.
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