India stuns Pakistan in CAVA Nations League

Pakistan volleyball team’s stunning defeat at the hands of India at the CAVA Nations League in Uzbekistan has left Pakistan Volleyball Federation’s (PVF) Director Technical and former Pakistan captain Naseer Ahmed extremely disappointed.

“We did not expect such a poor display from our side,” Naseer told Nukta in an interview.

“The entire team delivered zero performance and there was no body language seen on the court,” Naseer was quick to add.

Pakistan was on Monday downed by India 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-23) in the event. The loss ended their title hopes. Pakistan will play Iran today and if they beat them then they will play for the third spot on Wednesday.

Despite having a handful of professional players Pakistan did not even get a lead at any stage of the game. The Green Shirts were completely dominated by India, whose volleyball faces big issues due to parallel bodies.

“In the Asian Games in Hangzhou we had defeated India 3-0 with an enviable ease. We did not expect such a delivery from the lot. We lost against Kazakhstan in the previous show and it was understood that the team showed spirt and fought well but the way the team played against India is really surprising as we did not click in any zone,” said Naseer, who himself played in foreign leagues for over a decade.

“Not an individual but the entire team played poorly and it hurt me a lot,” he said.

“I had interacted with the team management before the game and I was told that the morale was high but when they went onto the field it really disappointed us,” he said.

“There was no such movement in all three sets where we could tell that we could stage a comeback. India’s service always remained slow but the way they played against Pakistan was amazing,” he said.

“It never happened that we ever delivered so poorly despite the fact that there is a good set-up. The issue is that how a strong team, backed by a strong management, could lose a game in such a fashion. I am really angry with the professional players who earn a lot in foreign leagues and if they play like this for Pakistan then what is its benefit. They should raise their game,” said Naseer, who captained Pakistan for over a decade.

He also questioned the physical condition of the Pakistan squad.

“My personal view is that it seemed that the team lacked in the physical aspect of the game,” Naseer said.

“As a federation we have hired for the team conditioning coach, head coach, assistant coach and video analyst and federation has provided the team beyond its capacity,” the official said.

Earlier, Pakistan made a fine start to the event by defeating Kyrgyzstan 3-0. However, in the next game they were undone by Kazakhstan 3-1.