24/01/2014 .The second day of sporting action on the sands of Miramar Beach had a surprise in store for sports enthusiasts. In addition to the existing main competition court, another court was thrown open for matches to be played. This decision was welcomed with a loud cheer from the audience stands as this meant that more matches could be played in lesser time.
The spectators were waiting with bated breath for the first match to start on the main competition court. The match featured Goa’s favourite Beach Volleyball players, Pralhad Dhawasker and Anil Shirodkar and Angola’s Hildebrando Bastos and Gerson Da Silva Leitao.
Within few minutes of the commencement of the match, it was clear that the Goan duo was in no mood to take things easy. They continued their winning streak by dominating yet again and demolished the Angolan defence by 21-14 and 21-13.
While the Goan athletes were busy shattering the dreams of Angola, simultaneously, the women’s team from Cape Verde was engaged in toying with the women’s team of Angola.
The duo did not waste much time and won comfortably in two straight sets, 21-18 and 21-6. The next match that followed, between Sao Tome and Principe and Guinea Bissau, was an exhibition of raw energy. Amidst power smashes and frantic dives, both the teams battled it out to outplay their opponent. Finally, Guinea Bissau had to bow down to Sao Tome and Principe, and lost by 11-21, 17-21.
It was then time for sisters representing Goa (India), Danish Dias and Christie Dias to take on their Sri Lankan counterparts, Siriwardana and Nirosha Lakmini Gunasinghe.
The first set of this supremely entertaining battle for supremacy lasted for around 20 minutes, by the end of which the Lankans had got the better of their opponents and won the set by 21-11. Goa (India) bounced back in the next set and took a quick lead, only to let go of some scoring opportunities before losing the lead. In the race to finish first, both the teams reached the mark of 21 points. The Lankans, however, didn’t take much time to up their game and won the second set too by 23-21.
The action on Court 2 continued as the Men’s team from East Timor competed with Angola. The quick paced game involved long rallies which made it clear that neither team was ready to let go. The team from Angola played intelligently and let their brains compete with sheer brawn of East Timor. After defeating their opponents in the first set by 19-21, Angola quickly wrapped up the second set, winning it by 15-21.
The last match of the morning session, the one between Cape Verde and Macau proved to be a one-sided affair as the former team triumphed over the latter, in quick succession. The Macau team had to face defeat by 6-21 and 14-21 to close the morning session of Beach Volleyball action on Day 2 at Miramar Beach.
