The Hindu : Sport : Volleyball players going for a makeover

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Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009
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Volleyball players going for a makeover

Stan Rayan

— Photo: Stan Rayan

READYING FOR CHANGE: Stars Kishore Kumar (left) and Tom Joseph are gearing up for the inaugural new Kerala Volleyball League.

KOCHI: Despite their occasional success at Asian and junior World championships, Indian volleyball players have been leading a quiet life the last few years. There are no big names like Jimmy George or Balwinder Singh ‘Bhallu’ who could command a mass following. And there are no dramatic characters who could attract attention these days. As for the tournaments, they have quietly vanished.

So much so, when the Volleyball Federation of India virtually abandoned the National League after conducting the two preliminary legs early this year, won by Kochi’s Bharat Petroleum at Duliajan and Haryana’s HSIDC at Sullia, very few even noticed it. Volleyball’s popularity seemed to be slipping fast and even some of the top players appeared to be losing interest in the sport.

But the new Kerala Volleyball League, the country’s first IPL-style professional league which will be held in Kozhikode in February, appears to be changing all this.

And after watching all the drama surrounding the auction of teams and cricketers in the IPL, volleyball players have begun to realise that they have to create value around themselves, that they have to market themselves better before they go under the hammer.

New development

And now, clearly, our spikers are going for a makeover.

Kishore Kumar, a star in the former National League champion BPCL team, is now grooming a goatee to match the sparkling stones on his ears.

“It’s a new development, it’s for the league,” says the former junior India captain, stroking his beard.

“We have to package ourselves better. Everybody is excited about the new league, suddenly all the players are charged up. And since actor Mammootty is the league’s brand ambassador, we will have big crowds since he has thousands of fans in Kozhikode and Malappuram.”

It will also rekindle interest for volleyball among youngsters, says Kishore.

“We have just five top teams in Kerala now — BPCL, Customs, Cochin Port Trust, KSEB and Navy. Earlier, we used to have many top teams like Kerala Police, KSRTC and Titanium. If this league clicks, we will have young and vibrant State and National teams in three years.”

The professional league will revive volleyball in a big way, says Tom Joseph who drew comparisons with Jimmy George and Bhallu a few years ago.

“This will be a big push for volleyball. Volleyball seemed to have reached a dead end when the National League was stopped after the preliminary stage this year. We are all working very hard now,” said the 29-year-old who could stop teams almost single-handedly with his spectacular spiking a few years ago.

Different tune

Some like setter B. Anil have decided to extend their playing career. For a few years now, the former international has been saying that he would like to call it a day, that the strain of feeding some of the country’s strongest spikers is too much of a burden. But he is now singing a different tune.

“I think I’ll stay on for one or two years more, this new professional league is too attractive to go,” said the 37-year-old.

The Kerala Volleyball League, which will be jointly run by the Mumbai-based sports management group SportzConsult and the Kerala Volleyball Association, will be a professional national league in a way. Every 12-member team will have four players from outside Kerala.

Volleyball is in for some exciting times indeed.

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