Historic win for SRM

Chennai: The unthinkable has happened in Tamil Nadu volleyball. Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) on Thursday failed to win a seventh successive state championship title. More importantly, SRM created history by becoming the first university team to claim the coveted crown.

Powered by a superb allround show from universal Jerome Vinith, SRM edged out IOB 21-25, 25-13, 27-25, 20-25, 15-10 in an epic final in front of a raucous crowd at the MRK Stadium.

SRM coach S.Dakshinamoorthy, who was chaired by his jubilant players after the match, has realised a lifelong dream. The experienced SAI coach called the achievement of his boys “the highlight“ of his career. “It's an unforgettable day in my life,“ he said. “Winning the state championship had always been my goal. Our success against IOB in the Chennai league a couple of years ago pales in comparison with this triumph.“

The timing of SRM's feat wouldn't be lost on anyone. After being hounded out of Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu’s Hostel of Excellence earlier this year for no fault of his, Dakshinamoorthy had a point to prove. His youthful charges rose to the occasion to help him prove more than a point.

The SRM players gave their all for themselves as well as their dedicated coach.

And, the result was a culmination of Dakshinamoorthy’s 18year blood and toil in Chennai. No one would begrudge all the plaudits coming his way. Fans and friends queued up to congratulate Dakshinamoorthy after the historic title.

SRM celebrated the big win in a befitting manner even as IOB trudged out of the court with their heads bowed.

The title could well have been SDAT’s if not the state government body hadn’t forced out

Dakshinamoorthy unceremoniously. Some SDAT officials including the GM were at hand to witness SRM’s splendid performance. They must be aware of what the SDAT’s hostel is missing now.

It was yesterday once again at the popular volleyball ground opposite the Egmore railway station. After PKR (Gobi) claimed their maiden title in the women’s section with a five-set win over Panimalar on Wednesday, the men’s category also saw the coronation of new champions following a match that went down to the wire.

Jerome transformed the six-a-side sport into a oneman show with his outstanding performance from every part of the court. The strapping allrounder from a humble family in Pudukottai played like a man possessed.

His booming smashes from zone two received no answers from IOB’s vaunted blockers.

G.R. Vaishnav, Indian team’s No.1 blocker, could do nothing to stop the onslaught of Jerome.

Dakshinamoorthy was proud of his team’s man of the match. “Jerome was exemplary today. He did everything expected of a top-class universal. We rode on his performance, as our defence wasn’t great. We were also poor in first-man attack. The team missed blocker Dinakaran,” he added.

Any team that plays well against IOB in basketball, hockey and volleyball becomes an instantaneous darling of fans in Chennai and Thursday was no different. The crowd, which had been solidly behind the underdogs, was chanting the name of Jerome non-stop towards the end.

Fittingly, it was Jerome who drove the final nail on IOB with a sharp smash from the minus position. The young man’s career was in jeopardy after a serious knee injury last year but the way he has come back speaks volumes about his undoubted talent and uncommon resilience.

Sports wouldn’t be sports without such inspiring stories. The day is not far off when Jerome seals his place in the national team because the universal has all the attributes of a top player.

Besides blocking, IOB were also below par in attacking. Barring Naveen Raja Jacob, no one else got going. Even though coach P.Sundaram tried to salvage the match by bringing in the left-handed Rajkumar for Selvaprabhu in the allrounder position, it wasn't his team's day. The turning point of the match was SRM's stellar comeback in the third set after being 9-15 down.

Winning the set instilled self-belief in the SRM ranks and it showed in the decider. The champions served well and played error-free volleyball in the fifth to cap a memorable day .

Results: Men: Final: SRM bt 21-25, 25-13, 27-25, 20-25, 15-10. 3rd place: Income Tax bt Customs 25-21, 25-22.