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Ahmedabad Defenders will face Hyderabad Black Hawks in the 1st semi-final
The Ahmedabad Defenders and the Hyderabad Black Hawks are preparing to face off in the inaugural Semi-Final of the RuPay Prime Volleyball League on Thursday, February 24, 2022, at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad. While the Defenders ended first in the rankings with 10 points from six games, the Black Hawks finished fourth with 7 points from six games in the league stage.
During the knockout stage, the league will implement referee decision reviews. Throughout the match, each side will get two reviews. If the review is successful, both parties will keep a review. From the time the referee makes his judgement, the on-court Captain has 8 seconds to request a review. Ball in and ball out, net fault, antenna touch by the player or ball, touch out, and center-line penetration are all rulings that can be appealed.
The RuPay Prime Volleyball League will also witness a change in the scoring system in the Semi-Finals and the Final. If the teams are locked at 14-14, then the team which first establishes a difference of two points will win the set. However, if the teams are tied at 20-20, then whichever team wins the 21st point will win the set.
Speaking ahead of their match against the Black Hawks, Ahmedabad’s Shon T John said, “We are really happy about making it to the Semi-Finals. We have prepared well for today’s match, and we have set our plans. The Hyderabad Black Hawks have good players and coaches, but we will look to execute our strategies and give our best.”
When asked about the strengths of the team, the Attacker said, “We have coordinated well throughout the tournament, and we have supported each other very well. We are going into the Semi-Final with confidence after registering a victory against Kochi Blue Spikers in our previous match. I am also focusing on getting better as a player with every match.”
The Hyderabad Black Hawks will be going into the Semi-Final after going down 5-0 against Calicut Heroes in their last league stage match. When asked about the game, Hyderabad’s SV Guru Prasanth said that the team should be able to bounce back, “Our opponents played well, and we didn’t execute our strategies properly. We lost 14-15 in three sets and some things didn’t go in our favour. However, we must make a comeback after our last game. We had a bad match, but we should be able to bounce back after a defeat.”
Speaking ahead of their match against Ahmedabad, Prasanth said, “Being a young side, it’s a big achievement for us to reach the Semi-Finals. However, this is not the end for us. We are going to give our 100 percent and try our best to win the match. We are concerned about our blocking game. We have to block well and stop their attacking game.”
The Ahmedabad Defenders will be up against Hyderabad Black Hawks in Semi-Final 1 at 1850hrs on Thursday, 24 February 2022.
Watch the RuPay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23, LIVE and Exclusive on SONY TEN 1, SONY TEN 2 (Malayalam), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) and SONY TEN 4 (Tamil and Telugu). The RuPay Prime Volleyball League is exclusively marketed by Baseline Ventures, the leading sports marketing firm in the nation. RuPay, the first-of-its-kind Global Card payment network from India, has come on board as the Title Sponsor of the RuPay Prime Volleyball League and Fantasy games leaders A23 have signed on as “Powered By” Sponsors in a multi-year deal.
Byju’s, Cred, Dafa News, EatFit, Amul Kool and Nippon Paint have come on board as Associate Sponsors and Cosco & Apollo Hospitals have associated with the RuPay Prime Volleyball League as the Official Partners. ShareChat and Moj are the Official Content Partners of the RuPay Prime Volleyball League.
The RuPay Prime Volleyball League will feature a total of 24 matches.