Volleyball Club World Championships: Ahmedabad Defenders Go Down to Italy's Sir Sicoma Perugia

India’s Ahmedabad Defenders provided enough glimpses of their potential but defending champions Sir Sicoma Perugia of Italy proved too strong for the home team in the final Pool A round robin clash in the Men’s Volleyball Club World Championships on Friday. The first-ever Indian outfit to participate in the prestigious tournament rode on a strong home support and put up a strong fight against the mighty Italians but ended up on the losing side 0-3 to end their campaign as the third best team in the Pool A. Perugia expectedly topped the Pool with two victories in two matches while Brazil’s Itambe Minas finished second with three points to book their semi-final spots. The Defenders, who participated in the Club World Championships on home turf by virtue of being the RuPay Prime Volleyball League champions, were definitely the underdogs going into the must-win clash against Perugia, who boasted of the likes of star setter Simone Giannelli and Cuban Opposite Jesus Hererra. In the opening set, the home team managed to keep pace with their illustrious opponents till the first 12 points before the left-handed Hererra decided to step up and find winners at will.