India maintained their dream run and stormed into the semifinals, thrashing North American champions Puerto Rico 3-0, in the Boys Under-19 World Volleyball Championship at Suphanburi, Thailand, on Friday. In the semifinals, India will take on Iran, who edged past hosts Thailand. Czech Republic and Brazil too won their quarterfinal matches to complete the semifinal line-up, according to information reaching here. India didn’t face much opposition from Puerto Rico en route to their 25-17, 25-14, 25-11 win in a match lasted exactly an hour. Asian champions India, started off in a thrilling fashion. They gained an 8-2 advantage in the opening set and then surged to a 14-7 lead as captain Rathish won points with quite ease. Good blocking and spiking from debutants India proved too strong for Puerto Rico and the Indian boys clinched the first set 25-17. The second set progressed smoothly in India’s favour. Puerto Rico captain Acevedo did a commendable job as a booster but with brilliant offensive game, the Indians took a sound 22-13 lead to win the set 25-14. Gaining confidence after a 2-0 lead, the Indians attacked right from the beginning of the third set to move up 14-9. Talented Sanjay played a key role in taking the team ahead 21-10. With a group of fans cheering them from the stands, India won the crucial set 25-11. In the other quarterfinals, Czech Republic beat Australia 20-25, 25-16, 25-18, 25-19 in 1 hour 36 minutes. Asian powerhouse Iran beat Thailand 25-16, 25-22, 25-19, while world champions Brazil scraped past European champs Russia in five sets 25-22, 17-25, 25-19, 20-25, 17-15. Semifinals: Czech Republic vs Brazil; Iran vs India; 5-8 ranking matches: Australia vs Russia; Thailand vs Puerto Rico.
