After 12 days of action in Kochi, the Pro-Volleyball bandwagon moves to Chennai for the final three days of league games at the Nehru indoor stadium starting from Saturday before the semifinals and final.
The six-team competition has seen three teams completing their league fixtures during the Kochi leg while Chennai Spartans, U Mumba Volley and Ahmedabad Defenders have two matches in hand.
Home team Spartans will look to get back to winning ways when it takes on U Mumba on Saturday, especially after squandering a two-set lead against Kochi Blue Spikers in its last league match.
The team, which has two points thanks to a win against Black Hawks Hyderabad, will hope to make the most of it against U Mumba and Defenders, both of whom have not won a match yet.
A win here on Saturday could boost Spartans’ chances grabbing the final semifinal berth along with the two Kerala teams, Calicut Heroes and Spikers, and Hyderabad.
One good news for the Chennai team will be that key player Akhin G.S. is fit to play on Saturday. He had twisted his ankle during the match against Spikers but has since recovered according to head coach M.H. Kumara.
“We are home and we are looking forward to just going into the match with one objective that is of winning.
“The home support will certainly lift our morale. I am also glad that Rudy Verhoeff has come of age in this league and has been leading the team from the front with his game and international experience,” Kumara said.
All-Star women’s match
In a bid to promote women’s volleyball in India, the organisers on Friday announced an All-Star women’s match to be played on the day of the PVL final (February 22).
PVL CEO Joy Bhattacharjya said, “It is a milestone moment for us as this will be the first ever women’s all-star match in India for any other sport league except cricket. Though, it is an exhibition match, in the longer run we want to have a full-fledged women’s volleyball league in place.”
Ramavtar Singh Jakhar, former India international and current secretary-general, Volleyball Federation of India, said, “The league has given a platform to men to display their talent. We wish to do the same for women as it is very crucial for both to grow the sport overall.”
