Defending champions Tamilnadu and Railways registered contrasting wins in the men's and women's categories, respectively to enter into the semifinals of the 60th Senior National Volleyball Championship at the Indoor Stadium here yesterday.

Tamilnadu men overcame a stiff challenge from Punjab before prevailing 21-25, 26-28, 25-20, 15-13 in a battle lasting two hours and 25 minutes.

They team now face Uttarakhand, who defeated Railways 25-22, 25-22, 25-18 in 70 minutes.

The Railways women's team, however, brought smile back in the camp when they thrashed Uttar Pradesh 25-10, 25-15, 25-8 in 45 minutes to set up a semifinal clash with Andhra Pradesh.

The Andhra women's had got the better of Himachal Pradesh 25-22, 28-30, 25-13, 25-17 in 95 minutes.