India’s men’s volleyball team, ranked 73 in the world, stunned continental powerhouses and world No. 27 South Korea 3-2 (25-27, 29-27, 25-22, 20-25, 17-15) in a nail-biting encounter at the Linping Sports Center Gymnasium here on Wednesday to notch their second consecutive win in as many matches and top the pool standings. Grouped in Pool C, India had beaten Cambodia 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-19) on Tuesday

South Korea, the 2018 Asian Games silver medallists, won the first set in 32 minutes, but the Indians, riding on some exemplary attacking play from wing spiker Amit Guria, stormed back to take the next two.

Guria, in fact, ended the match as the top scorer with 24 points, followed by Ashwal Rai (16) and Vinit Kumar (15). India looked primed to wrap up the game in four after taking the second and third sets, but the Koreans, particularly NA Gyeongbok, dug in. Errors from Erin Varghese didn’t help India’s cause as Koreans drew level.

The fifth set was a cagey affair too with India slipping from 8-4 up to trailing 11-10. Korea saved two match points and had a match point saved but eventually, India held on to secure a famous win in 2 hours and 23 minutes.