Big time volleyball is returning to the city after a long time; the last major event it hosted was the senior Nationals in 2000. And it cannot get bigger than this, as the volleyball competitions of the National Games, which open at the V.K. Krishna Menon Indoor Stadium here on Monday, feature most of the country’s biggest names.
There would be big crowds to watch them in action, too. Kozhikode might be known better for its love of football, but volleyball too is immensely popular, especially in the rural areas.
With the indoor stadium all spruced up for the National Games, fans would be able to enjoy high quality action in ideal setting. That Kerala is fielding strong teams in both the men’s and women’s events should please them further.
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The host starts as the clear favourite in the women’s event, especially with the coming home of three Railway stars — M.S. Poornima, V. Soumya and Terin Antony. They would join the likes of Tiji Raju, P.V. Sheeba, S. Rekha, K.K. Fousath, Fathima Ruksana and M. Sruthi.
“We have the team to win the gold,” coach V. Anil Kumar told The Hindu on Sunday. “We have a nice blend of experience and youth. It is going to be a competitive event though, as teams like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are quite good.”
Tamil Nadu is the favourite in the men’s section. Not even the absence of setter K.J. Kapil Dev, who is playing for his native Kerala, would hurt the team, which is packed with internationals. The addition of Kapil Dev, as well as Manu Joseph and T.M. Azeez has raised Kerala’s hopes of a good show. The team could also bank on the experience of the likes of Tom Joseph, still a great crowd-puller.
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Kerala coach S.T. Harilal though sounded realistic about his team’s chances. “It is not going to be easy for us in an event with so many strong teams, like Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan and Services,” he said.
The groupings: Men: Pool ‘A’: Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Services and Haryana. Pool ‘B’: Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Kerala and Punjab.
Women: Pool ‘A’: Kerala, Chandigarh, Karnataka and Bengal. Pool ‘B’: Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana.