Nationals get underway against a bleak backdrop

By M.C. Raman

KOZHIKODE, JAN. 6. The alarm bells are ringing for Indian volleyball. And it's a pity that the Volleyball Federation of India officials are looking the other way, without bothering about the seriousness of the slump in the National teams' performances at the Asian level the past four years.

The previous year exposed the slackness in the administration, as an under-prepared Indian junior team failed to qualify for the top four positions for the first time in nearly 10 years. This is very bad news because, unless the talent pool is enlarged, there is no hope for the senior team to reach the pinnacle in Asia one day.

Look at the unexpected change in the Asian scene. The standard of the Japanese and Korean teams is coming down and China is also feeling the pressure of tough competition as Australia has added a new dimension to Asian volleyball. The only outfit that is consistently doing well is Chinese Taipei and it has turned out to be India's bugbear, particularly in the junior section.

Now is the time for the VFI to do everything possible to prepare a strong squad to barge into the elite group like the National team, led by Jimmy George, managed to do by winning the Seoul Asiad bronze medal in 1986.

However, there has been slip at every stage after that. Still, the VFI has done a decent job in preparing junior players for nearly a decade. What is alarming is that the youngsters who show their mettle in international competitions do not maintain that standard when they move into the senior bunch. This has been a big problem that is haunting the VFI.

The senior side's failure in qualifying for the final play-off of four in the Doha and Teheran Asian championships in 1997 and 1999 respectively was of its own making the mental toughness, in facing up to the challenge, was missing.

Now there is another problem that is going to make VFI's job difficult - finding quality coaches for National job. The World Centre in Chennai is trying to fill the vacuum by conducting clinics on a regular basis. But this is going to be a long process. In the meantime there is dearth of competent trainers who can guide the National squads against stronger teams in Asian-level competitions in which there is greater threat to India from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Thailand and Bahrain.

One must look at the National senior championship, which commences at the Exhibition Ground here on Sunday, against this background. This is the wrong start to Indian volleyball, which has given us some respect internationally in the last two decades, in the new millennium. Dragging the sport on the mudcourts is not a healthy sign.

Punjab, the holder, and Kerala in the elite Group A and Tamil Nadu and Railways in Group B are superior teams. But this time, Punjab may not find it that easy to get past Tamil Nadu, the South Zone winner. Last year Amir Singh, a pro playing in the Gulf, took the wind out of Tamil Nadu in Salem with his excellent block and spiking. But Tamil Nadu's coach G.E. Sridharan is confident of taking the title here.

By including Tom Joseph, who was missing in the South Zone championship, Kerala, in front of the home crowd, will be a threat to any side. The towering Tom's spiking is a revelation. And the Railways is equally capable of putting hurdles to the front runners.

In the women's section, the Railways has been chugging on, uninterrupted, nearly two decades. Andhra's rise is noteworthy as it is pushing Kerala and Tamil Nadu to lower positions. A change is needed to relieve the monotony.

The top three teams in Group A and B in the mens' section will automatically qualify for the quarterfinals knock- out and the seventh and eighth teams would be decided by play-off with toppers from Group C and D. In the women's event, the top two teams from each group will move into the second stage in the women's section.

The Groupings:

Men: Gr. A: Punjab, Kerala, Services, MP, U.P., Rajasthan; Gr. B: Tamil Nadu, Railways, AP, Karnataka, Delhi, Bengal; Gr. C: Orissa, Assam, Goa, Pondicherry, Maharashtra, Chandigarh; Gr. D: HP, J & K, Tripura, Haryana, Gujarat, Bihar.

Women: Gr. A: Railways, Bengal, Maharashtra, Punjab; Gr. B: AP, Delhi, MP, U.P, Pondicherry; Gr. C: Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Orissa, Bihar; Gr. D: Kerala, HP, Gujarat, Chandigarh, Haryana.

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