Hyderabad Black Hawks U21 were crowned champions of the inaugural volleyball Guardians Trophy after defeating hosts Goa Guardians U21 3-1 in the final here on Sunday, with captain Deepak attributing the win to the team’s strong cohesion and combination.
Hyderabad, who had beaten Ahmedabad Defenders U21 in straight sets in the semifinal, made a dominant start to the title clash, winning the opening set 16-7.
Goa, backed by the home crowd, fought back to take the second set 15-11, but Hyderabad regained the advantage by edging a closely contested third set 16-14.
The Black Hawks then sealed the title with a 15-8 win in the fourth set.
“It feels very good to win. Our team’s combination was very good today, and that is why we were able to win,” Deepak told PTI Videos after the victory.
Goa’s Suraj said the tournament provided valuable exposure to young players despite the team’s defeat in the final.
“The experience was very good. Young talent got a lot of opportunities. We lost the final, but on the way to the final we had to fight hard against several teams, which was a very good experience,” Suraj said.
Goa’s Yogesh Kumar also praised the facilities and organisation of the inaugural tournament.
“It was a very good tournament. The facilities and everything were very good. Considering that this was the first edition, it was organised very well,” Yogesh said.
Hyderabad’s Sarthak was the standout performer of the tournament, taking home the MVP, Best Server, and Best Opposite awards.
Deepak was named Best Attacker, while Goa players Suraj, Arjun, and Yogesh won the Best Blocker, Best Setter, and Best Libero awards, respectively.
Hyderabad received Rs 1.2 lakh as prize money, while Goa took home Rs 60,000 as runners-up.
The inaugural Guardians Trophy was created by Goa Guardians to provide India’s emerging volleyball players with a competitive franchise-level platform.