No medal but big gains

The final standings showed South Korea getting the gold followed by China and Iran. The fact India was the only team in the tournament to beat Korea and they were just three points away from beating the bronze medallist Iran is testimony to India’s much-improved showing.

The man chiefly responsible for this achievement has been the 6 feet 10 inches tall universal player Subba Rao. Speaking to The Indian Express from Tianjin, the team’s Bulgarian coach Hristo Iliev said, ‘‘Subba is a world class player without any doubt. His amazing form has played a big role in we reaching so far.’’

Despite missing out on a medal, Hristo focussed on the positives emerging from this tournament. ‘‘Our display here has opened a number of doors for us.’’ Those new avenues don’t just mean a possible berth to Athens but also invitations from various countries considering the strong showing.

Today’s game had the elements of a usual Indo-Pak encounter. Tempers were raised in the early part but as skipper Amir Singh said, ‘‘once we started dominating the game, the Pakistan team lost their spirit and their voice.’’

When the Indians wrapped up the game without much fuss, it was the conclusion of hectic preparations going on for months. Hristo had a word of praise for the players. ‘‘At times these guys have spent more than eight hours on the court. This is a real hard-working bunch,’’ he said.

But are there any areas they need improve? ‘‘The serves and the blocking are two things which need attention. In the days to come I will be focusing my attention on these areas,’’ he said.

With Hristo’s contract with the Indian team ending next month, he wasn’t quite forthcoming while talking about the future. But with the results there seems to be no debate about him being retained.