S Kannan in Hangzhou
If there is one mass sport in India which is played with bare-minimum equipment and also outdoors, it is volleyball. It is a common sight to see middle-class men enjoying a game of volleyball minus all the fancy kit – shiny apparel and attractive shoes. At least, as a middle-class sport, it is common to see men in a makeshift venue, mostly outdoors, boosting a ball in the air and whacking it down.
Volley is a word usually associated with tennis, but the sport that has the word in its name is one where India have done exceedingly well at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. The names of Amit, Vinit Kumar, Ashwal Rai, Muthusamy, Manoj Manjunath and Erin Varghese may not ring a bell for many, yet they have been the subject of Google searches in the past week.
Why? Because these daring men, coached by Jaideep Sarkar, have dreamt and played a brand of volleyball which has been compared with tidal waves. On Sunday, the Indian team lost to Japan – no shame in that – in the quarter-finals. Japan have pedigree and strength in this sport as well.
If there is something called overreaching and attempting to create history, the men’s volleyball pack did it this time in China. Quite surprisingly, well before the glitz and glamour of the opening ceremony held on Saturday, the volleyball team had been pounding away on the indoor courts.
Usually, the results of this sport go almost unnoticed in India. No, not this time, as beating Cambodia, mighty South Korea and a potent Chinese Taipei was no flash in the pan. Even those who are least bothered sat up and took notice of the men’s volleyball team in India, even as the hype was on other individual athletes and team sports like hockey and football.
To be sure, India does have a legacy in volleyball, just that it dates back to an almost-ancient era when superstars like Jimmy George, the man with the magic jump almost one metre above the ground, and PV Ramana, father of badminton star PV Sindhu, played this sport. Those who watched Jimmy would vouch that he was a magician and could attract crowds like crazy. Nearly four decades after his tragic passing, he is still revered for his skills in most parts of Kerala.
Volleyball has been a mass sport in south India and even in rural north India. In winter, it is common to see balding men smeared in oil wearing simple shorts, and even bare-chested, pumping away at the ball. Setter, spiker – these are words not many Millennials will know. Yet, for sheer speed and simplicity, volleyball has few equals.
What one got to see in Hangzhou was nothing short of magic as the Indian team produced performances which were top-class. Self-belief was a mantra, and it became clear how much the lessons learnt from playing the pro volleyball league have come in handy.
In the last decade or so, with more sport in India getting televised, there has been a mushrooming of leagues. Kabaddi, wrestling, kho kho and many more leagues have grown. Yet, the volleyball league shaped up much later and has done good for India. In another two days, the team will be playing for the fifth and sixth spots in the Asian Games. Was the loss to Japan on Sunday a heartbreak? Not really. To have come this far, the quarter-final, was a joy.
One must celebrate the performance of the Indian volleyball team and maybe ensure they get the national sports awards nominations. All national sports award winners do not necessarily have to be medallists, For, Dipa Karmakar got a Khel Ratna after her fourth-place finish in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Maybe, the time has come when the Sports Ministry should take notice of the role coach Sarkar has played.
Last but not least, volleyball in India has been ill-treated by greedy officials. Perhaps, like basketball, there are selfish-minded people who have rubbed the sport into the dirt. Stories of players in tears and approaching courts of law to represent their state in the National Championship make you cry.
At a time when the Sports Ministry and the Sports Authority of India are taking a massive interest in sports, volleyball needs a hug. A fifth or sixth-place finish for a team ranked in the seventies by the FIVB, the world body, is massive. To borrow a volleyball term, bring on the booster!