Hyd Black Hawks make winning start at Goa
Goa: Hyderabad Black Hawks began their Goa Guardians Trophy Under-21 campaign on a winning note, defeating Bengaluru 3-0 in their opening match on Friday, while four promising Telugu players earned places in the franchise’s final squad following trials in Vijayawada.
The Hyderabad franchise, part of the Prime Volleyball League, conducted U-21 trials that attracted around 180 registrations, with 105 players taking part in the selection process. Twelve players were eventually shortlisted, including four from Telugu-speaking states. Karthik of Guntur, Dheeman of Visakhapatnam, Srunik of Peddapalli and Akshith of Warangal impressed the selectors to secure their places in the Hyderabad Black Hawks squad.
Hyderabad then produced a dominant display against Bengaluru in Goa, completing a straight-set victory. They won the opening set 15-8 before edging Bengaluru 15-13 in the second. The Black Hawks maintained their composure in a closely fought third set, winning 16-14 to seal the match 3-0.
The remaining selected players are Shubham Yadav (Uttar Pradesh), Deepak (Haryana), Ayaz Ahmed (Jammu and Kashmir), Sarthak (Madhya Pradesh), Pratik (Karnataka), and Suresh Kumar, Rizwan and Shankar of Tamil Nadu.
Ten PVL teams are competing in the tournament, providing young players a valuable platform to gain competitive experience.