Volleyball: India
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Pro Volleyball League
Player auction, 2018
Pratyush Raj, Spikers rake in the moolah, December 15, 2018: The Times of India
From: Pratyush Raj, Spikers rake in the moolah, December 15, 2018: The Times of India
Volleyball players ke bhi acche din aa gaye (Good days have come for Indian spikers). That is how Ranjit Singh, a sub-inspector in Punjab Police, summed up the tag of being the costliest player to have emerged out of the Pro Volleyball League player auction, which took place in the national capital on Friday. Ahmedabad Defenders bid the highest for Ranjit, as the Punjab lad notched up Rs 13 lakh.
Six foreign players were picked through a draft process, while 117 Indians went under the hammer. Among other players, Muthu Samy was purchased by Black Hawks Hyderabad for Rs 10 lakh, Ratheesh CK went to Calicut Heroes for Rs 9.8 lakh, Rahul Greak was bagged by Ahmedabad Defenders for Rs 7.4 lakh and U Mumba Volley got the services of Shubham Chaudhary for Rs 5.5 lakh.
“I knew I would get a good sum. For all of us, this is a new chapter and I hope we can live up to the expectations and faith shown in us by the team owners, volleyball federation and organizers,” Ranjit told TOI.
Once the auction finished and Ahmedabad Defenders announced the record amount for Ranjit, the volume of congratulatory calls and messages was immense and the 26-yearold had to switch off his phone.
According to Ranjit, the league is the best thing to have happened to Indian volleyball. “The sport had fallen off the radar. But this will be a new beginning,” said Ranjit.
There are six teams – Ahmedabad Defenders, Black Hawks Hyderabad, Calicut Heroes, U Mumba Volley, Kochi Blue Spikers and Chennai Spartans — in the league. The league will start from February 2 next year.
2019
India beat Pak in U-23 SFs
August 11, 2019 The Times of India
India on Saturday scripted history by booking their maiden berth in the final of the men's Asian U-23 Volleyball Championships by beating Pakistan in the semifinals here. By entering the final, the Indian team also qualified for the upcoming FIVB Men's U-23 Championships.
Pakistan, who came into the match in great form, failed to capitalise on the advantage after winning the first set and conceded the next three sets to the rampaging Indians, who secured a comprehensive 3-1 win in the end.
India won the match 21-25, 25-16, 25-22, 25-18 to set up a summit clash against Chinese Taipei on Sunday. Pakistan won the first set largely untroubled. India did run them close at various stages, bringing the score to 15-16 and 19-20 on two occasions. However, once beyond the 20-point mark, Pakistan did not give anything away to close matters quickly.
India’s start to the second set was much more confident than the first as both the key players, Shon John and Amit Gulia found their touch. Pakistan was able to match India shot for shot until the 10-point mark after which miscalculations and chaos proved to be the undoing for Pakistan, which allowed India to win the set easily. The next set once again began on a competitive note with neither side being able to get a lead of more than two points till the halfway mark.
However, once again after reaching the 10-point mark, the Indians raised their game to put some distance between them and their opponents. Pakistan made a recovery to level the scores at 18 and 22-point mark. But John once again emerged as the man for coach Pritam Singh Chauhan as he turned the set in favour of India with a series of decisive spikes. India eventually wrapped things up to take the set 25-18. PTI
Indian boys win Asian U-23 silver
India on Sunday settled for a silver medal after suffering a 1-3 loss against Chinese Taipei in the final of the men’s Asian U-23 Volleyball Championships Nay Pyi Taw. India put up a brave fight after losing the first two sets to secure the third set. However, blocking and reception errors in a hard-fought fourth set allowed Chinese Taipei to seal a comfortable 25-21, 25-20, 19-25, 25-23 win in the end. AGENCIES
