Volleyball
India beat Chinese Taipei to stay unbeaten at AVC Men's Volleyball Nations Cup
India dropped its first set of the tournament but bounced back strongly to win the match 3-1.
India defeated Chinese Taipei in third group game of AVC Men's Nations Cup. (Photo Credits: AVC)
India defeated Chinese Taipei to register their third straight win at the AVC Men's Volleyball Nations Cup at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on Monday.
The hosts dropped their first set of the tournament to Taipei but bounced back to win the next three and win the match 3-1 (22-25, 25-14, 25-22, 25-22) to remain unbeaten.
India's outside hitter Chirag Yadav continued his form and again led the scoring charts for India with 20 points, followed by his partner Joel Benjamin Jebaraj on opposite flank with 14 points.
India got off to a slow start, losing the opening set to Chinese Taipei after some defensive lapses and never managing to take the lead in the set.
In the second set, the captain Jerome Vinith pulled back the team and showcased some quality aggressive shots to win the set with a dominating 25-14 score.
The Taipei team tried to put pressure on the Indian defence in the coming sets, but the team managed to hold on to their composure and close out the match.
With these three consecutive victories, India has now entered the top 50 FIVB World Rankings, climbing three places to rank 49th in the world.
They will next face Bahrain, the highest-ranked team in Group A, on Tuesday. A win in this match will confirm India's qualification for the knockout stage.