Hawk Eye challenge system hailed by volleyballers

Sapporo (Japan), Aug 28 (IANS) Players in the FIVB World Grand Prix Finals Wednesday hailed the first use of the Hawk Eye challenge system in the top women’s volleyball tournament.

Serbia was the first team that used the challenge system in the tournament’s opener against China and successfully revised referee’s judgement in the third set, reports Xinhua.

Serbia captain Maja Ognjenovic said after the competition that the challenging was a “good experience”, as referees sometimes make mistakes.

Chinese player Hui Ruoqi said the tournament has very professional referees but they are human beings after all.

China also successfully challenged a controversial call in the fourth set against the Serbs.

“Sometimes there are controversial calls so I think it’s a good thing for the sport. The challenge system gives us a chance to fight for our rights,” said Hui.

China’s star coach Lang Ping also said the new challenge system is a funny thing, adding that the precondition is that the players have to confirm the truth, or it may affect the team.

China won 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-17, 25-20) over the European champions, which had been defeated by China in Wuhan in a preliminary game.

The challenge system was also used in the tournament’s second match between defending champions the United States and Brazil.

American coach Karch Kiraly said that it’s a work in progress.

“We, the coaches, are learning about it, but we really like the idea of getting good calls and giving referees some help because it’s a fast game and it’s sometimes hard to see where the ball lands. In the long run, it’s good for the game,” said the coach.