Waited for this moment: Ahmedabad’s Angamuthu on winning PVL title

CHENNAI: Ahmedabad Defenders universal R Angamuthu could not hide his joy after his team went all the way in the Prime Volleyball League Season 2 that concluded on Sunday.

A year after losing to Kolkata Thunderbolts in the inaugural season’s summit clash, Defenders defeated Bengaluru Torpedoes 15-7, 15-10, 18-20, 13-15, 15-10 in the second edition’s final at the Regional Sports Centre in Kochi.

“I do not know how to express my feeling. We have waited for this moment for a long time. I just want to enjoy this moment,” said Angamuthu, the ‘Player of the Match’ in the title decider. “We played in the final last year as well, but finished runner-up. Before the match [on Sunday], there were a lot of things going on in my mind. I did not want to repeat last season’s result. I kept my focus and did not get distracted much,” Angamuthu added.

Angamuthu also heaped praise on Torpedoes that staged a turnaround after going two sets down. The Bengaluru team saved two championship points in the third set, but could not prevent Ahmedabad from clinching its maiden Prime Volleyball title.

“The way Bengaluru started was good, but we won the first two sets. Its plan worked in the next two sets (which it won). It put us under pressure with its game. Torpedoes was a formidable opponent for us in the final,” said Angamuthu.

AWARD WINNERS: Most valuable player – SV Guru Prasanth (Hyderabad Black Hawks); Best spiker – SV Guru Prasanth (Hyderabad Black Hawks); Best blocker – Jose Antonio Sandoval (Calicut Heroes); Best setter – Mohan Ukkrapandian (Calicut Heroes); Best libero – R Ramanathan (Chennai Blitz); Emerging player – Ibin Jose (Bengaluru Torpedoes); Fantasy player – S Nandhagopal (Ahmedabad Defenders); Best coach – S Dakshinamoorthy (Ahmedabad Defenders)