Goa forced to settle for bronze in beach volleyball

Panaji: Goa's ace beach volleyball pair of Rama Dawaskar and Aaron Pereira were left heartbroken after their 15-21, 21-16, 8-15 loss against Telangana in the semifinals at Dumas Beach, Surat, on Sunday, but there was some cheer for the duo as they brought home Goa's third bronze.
The Goan champions put behind their disappointing loss behind them to edge past their statemates, Nitin Sawant and Sarvesh Naik, 21-19, 21-14.
Expectations were high after Rama-Aaron remained unbeaten in the group and were fancying their chances against Telangana. In a nail-biting three-set encounter, Telangana raced ahead to take the first set 15-21 but the Goan duo took the second set at 21-16.
"Though we had lost against the same pair in our previous meeting, our morale was high,” said 32-year-old Rama, popularly known as Pappu. “It hurts a lot that we were so close. Everyone was telling us that we were a better team but a few points here and there in the deciding set made all the difference,"
As it turned out, wind also played an important role. Sunday saw wind blow in the opposite direction whereas in the three previous matches, it was the other side.
In the decider, both teams were neck-and-neck before Telangana surged ahead and closed the match with a 15-8 scoreline.
Aaron, 30, is now looking forward to the next edition of the National Games which will be hosted in Goa.
"With no practice for more than two years due to Covid-19, we reached the semifinals in style and won the bronze. We have ample knowledge and experience. Playing at Miramar beach and having home support will take us a couple of steps further. Yes, we lost, but it was a tight match. There is a lot to learn from this kind of match," said Aaron.
If Rama-Aaron went down fighting, the second team Nitin-Sarvesh put up a solid performance only to lose 20-22, 19-21 against Andhra Pradesh.
"If we had made it past Telangana, we could have won the gold as we had already beaten Andhra Pradesh. Sometimes, it is just not your day," said Aaron.