Beginnings are tough but a move has been made. And that’s a start that the players had been longing for years.
In his prime, more than 35 years ago, G. E. Sridharan played in the Italian Volleyball League’s Second Division, the A2. Jimmy George, among India’s finest players ever, played in the same division.
“Every club had two foreign players and we were the two there. A little later, Jimmy got promoted to A1 which had some of the world’s best players, including many Olympic and World champions. I was there from 1982 to 1986 and I’ve played with many Americans and Yugoslavians,” said Sridharan, a longtime Indian volleyball coach.
“The volleyball league helped Italians in a big way and a few years later, they went on to win the World Championships.”
Sridharan believes that the RuPay Pro Volleyball League, which began in Kochi and which will move to Chennai later this month for the final phase, will be the start of something big in the country.
India which was ranked No. 39 a few years ago, has now fallen to 131, virtually the bottom of the world body FIVB’s table.
Denne historien er fra February 23, 2019-utgaven av Sportstar.
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Denne historien er fra February 23, 2019-utgaven av Sportstar.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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