India men's national volleyball team
Introduction The '''India men's national volleyball team''' represents India in international volleyball competitions. It is managed by the Volleyball Federation of India and is currently sponsored by Sahara India Pariwar and Asics.The Indian volleyball team has had a rollercoaster ride in its history. Although they have never qualified for the Olympics, they have appeared in the World Championship twice.Despite having little to no presence at the world stage in its history, the team has enjoyed some success at the continental level by clinching a silver medal and two bronze medals at the Asian Games. After the decline post 1980s, the team has fared well at the recently introduced Asian Cup competition, receiving a silver and a bronze medal so far.
History ===Pre-Independence===Though the game was played informally for a long time, the first interstate volleyball tournament was held in 1936 by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).===Establishment===In 1951, the formation of Volleyball Federation of India gave the sport a better structure and the interstate tournament evolved into the senior national championship with the first edition being held in 1952.This platform gave birth to many talents who went on to represent India at the international level.===Golden years (1952–1962)===India had immediate success after formation as they made their debut in FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship's 1952 edition. After losing to France and Czechoslovakia by comfortable 3–0 margins in the first round, they made a comeback in the 7th–8th placing round as they beat Finland, Lebanon and Israel to clinch the 8th spot.In 1955, India won the Asian Volleyball Tournament which was held in Tokyo. Three years later, the Gurudev Singh led team won the bronze medal at the 1958 Asian Games. They beat Hong Kong and the Philippines in three straight sets but could not get past volleyball powerhouses Iran and Japan, though they managed to win a set against each.In the 1962 Asian Games they managed to go one step ahead as they began their campaign with four consecutive wins against Burma(twice), Cambodia and Pakistan. Their old rivals Japan got the better of them in what was a five set thriller, with Japan winning the final set by 15–12 margin. This team was led by legendary players Nripjit Singh Bedi and A. Palaniswamy, both Arjuna Award winners, who had graduated to the senior team, which was then led by TP Padmanabhan Nair, who was also a part of the 1958 team. India has to settle for the Silver Medal which is currently their highest achievement ever at the Asian Games.===The finest era (1960s–1980s)===After a memorable outing at the 1962 Asian Games, India finished fourth and fifth at the 1966 and 1974 Asian Games respectively, not making it to the 1970 edition in between.India did not enter into the inaugural Asian men's volleyball championship in 1975 but made their debut in the following tournament in 1979 where they finished fifth. In the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok and at the 1982 Asian Games at home in New Delhi, the Indian volleyball team saw another upswing after finishing seventh and fourth respectively, falling just short of a medal in 1982 edition after they finished at the bottom of the table among four teams in the final round, going down to the heavyweights South Korea and China in straight sets.In the following year at the Asian Volleyball Championship in Tokyo, India finished fifth yet again without any medal. However, the wait for a medal would not last too long.In the 1986 Asian Games India sent arguably its best team ever. Led by Cyril Valloor, the team boasted the presence of former national coach GE Sridharan, K Udayakumar, who later went on to captain the Indian volleyball team, Abdul Basith, Dalel Singh and PV Ramana, father of Indian badminton star PV Sindhu.All of them were Arjuna awardees but the most special of them all and the team's lynchpin was the talented Jimmy George, an Arjuna winner himself and a legend of Indian volleyball. He had been tearing up the national circuit for a decade and also had stints at clubs in Italy, one of the best leagues in that era, along with GE Sridharan.Jimmy George towered at a height of 6'2" and had the advantage of graceful jumps. His ability in the air for a fraction of a second longer helped him in his smashes, all of which were very powerful thanks to his larger frame.All of these factors combined well together and the Indian volleyball team started the Asian Games with four victories – against Hong Kong, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.Later in the games, they went down to the home team South Korea, who went on to register another victory later, but in between the Indian volleyball team finally managed to beat powerhouses Japan, more impressively in straight sets, facilitated by Jimmy George's tremendous drive. However, they could not sustain the momentum, as they fell to eventual champions China, to end up with bronze medal.===Decline (1990s–2000s)===The general popularity of the sport in the country declined in the years to follow as in-fighting within federations coincided with the death of Jimmy George in an accident in 1987 and adding to it was the rise of the Indian national cricket team as a powerhouse.The Indian volleyball men and women's teams dominated the South Asian Federation Games in the nineties, winning three medals each, but it did not spark a revival, with subpar performances to follow at the 2006 and 2010 by the men after they came at ninth and sixth respectively.However, they finished fourth in the 2005 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship which is currently their highest ever finish at this tournament. They went all the way to semi-finals where they lost in straight sets against Japan and then went down to South Korea in third place match losing with a margin of three sets to one.===2010–present===The 2010 and 2014 editions of the Asian Games provided some respite as the Indian volleyball men's team finished a respectable fifth with modern-day stars and inspirational captains Sinnadu Prabhagaran and Mohan Ukkrapandian leading the way.The team also played at the Asian Cup, where they achieved some fine results, capturing bronze medal at the 2010 Asian Cup and reached all the way to the final of the 2014 Asian Cup by defeating Japan in the group stage, the top Asian team Iran in the semi-final before succumbing to South Korea with a margin of three sets to one. Besides couple of good performances at the Asian level, the team also managed to claim a gold medal at the 2010 South Asian Games.The Indian volleyball men's team was ranked 34th in 2014, their best in the world, they also managed to win a gold medal eighth gold medal at 2016 South Asian Games, but just as it seemed that the sport was picking up again, an internal dispute in the VFI meant that it was banned from the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) for two years till 2018.It meant that Indian volleyball players could not travel to other leagues to play, which affected the exposure to different styles, a factor which coach GE Sridharan felt led to a 12th-place finish at the 2018 Asian Games.However, things are looking up again. The Pro Volleyball League, a franchise-based tournament was started in 2019 and it was a resounding success, made more memorable by the appearance of stars like American David Lee, an Olympic gold medallist in 2008.India also gained their ninth and seventh successive gold medal at the South Asian Games in 2019.Though the men's Indian volleyball team won't be in Tokyo following their loss in the Olympic qualification tournament, with the renewed interest in the sport thanks to the new franchise league, the nation could see the upswing in the next few years.
Notable players and past squads *Mohan Ukkrapandian,*Balwant Singh*Riaz Ahmed*Sube singh gujjar*Abdul Basith*Jimmy George*K. Udayakumar*Cyril C. Valloor*Shyam Sunder Rao*A. Ramana Rao*Tom Joseph*G. E. Sridharan*Anup D'Costa*Kirtesh Kumar Trivedi*K. J. Kapil Dev*Tilakam Gopal*Nihal Jadav*Naveen Raja Jacob*Sandeep Sharma*Suresh Kumar Mishra*Ranvir Singh*A. Palanisamy*R. K. Purohit*Yejju Subba Rao*Benjaminwalter J. Medari*T.P.Padmanabhan Nair*Sulaiman*Kuldip Chand Chopra===1958 Asian Games squad===T. R. Arunchalam, S. L. Gupta, Bharatan Nair, T. P. Padmanabhan Nair, Abdur Rahman, Raman Raman, S. K. Sheikuchan, Gurdev Singh. Coach: H P Kohli, Kuldip Chand Chopra (Delhi, UT)===1962 Asian Games squad===Nripjit Singh Bedi, Tilakam Gopal, Joseph, Jai Karan, Khalid, Munnalal, T. P. Padmanabhan Nair, A. Palanisamy, Des Raj, Jaswant Singh. Coach: HP Kohli===1986 Asian Games squad===Jimmy George, K. Udayakumar, Kirtesh Kumar, Sukhpal Singh, Mehar Singh, GE Sridharan, Sandeep Sharma, P. V. Ramana, Dalel Singh, Abdul Basith, Cyril Valloor===2014 Asian Games squad===G. R. Vaishnav, Kamlesh Khatale, Karthik Ashok, Prabagaran, Hardeep Singh, Naveen Raja Jacob, Gurinder Singh, reyant, Jerome Vinit Charles, Mohan Ukkrapandian, Ranjit Singh, Pattani Prabakaran===2022 Asian Games squad===Amit Gulia, Vinit Kumar, Shameemudheen Ammarambath, Muthusamy Appavu, Hari Prasad Bevinakuppe Suresha, Rohit Kumar, Manoj Lakshmipuram Manjunatha, Mohan Ukkrapandian, Ashwal Rai, Santhosh Sahaya Anthoni Raj, Guru Prasanth Subramanian Venkatasubbu, Erin Varghese
Managerial history HP Kohli was considered as the best coach Indian Volleyball team ever had. HP Kohli coached Indian Volleyball team during its golden era of 1950s to 1970s. He expired on 13th Jan, 1980 due to cardiac arrest.Achutha Kurup was considered as the master tactician who guided India to its last medal at the Asian Games. Kurup was appointed in 1982 ahead of 1982 Asian Games in Delhi, but what brought him fame was a bronze medal in 1986 Asian Games four years later. Besides the medal in Seoul, Kurup was also at the helm when the Indian team won the silver in an international tournament in Japan in 1989.Shyam Sunder Rao was appointed as the coach of Indian volleyball team after his success with the Junior national team. With his eyes set on a medal in the 2002 Asian Games, Sunder Rao's side missed an opportunity to end India's medal draught at the Asian Games since 1986, as they missed a place in the semi-finals by one point. However, the team went on to beat Pakistan and Chinese Taipei to finish fifth in the tournament. Head coach Period Achutha Kurup1986-1994 Shyam Sunder Rao1995–20022008–2011 G.E. Sridharan2018–2020 Jaideep Sarkar2023–present
Current technical staff  Name Role Jaideep SarkarHead coach Tom JosephAssistant coach Dr.Utkarsh Kulshreshtha (PT)Head Physio
Team ===Current squad===The following is the 2022 Indian national team roster, called up for 2020 Summer Olympics qualification.Head coach:  G.E. Sridharan+Squad for 2024-2025No.NameDate of birthHeightWeightSpikeBlock2020/21 club G K S Ammal Akhin Kerala Amit Balwan Singh Haryana Ranjit Singh Punjab5Tharun Perla02 MARCH 20051.78M(5Fft 9)50kg 9110ib)345cm(132)335cm(132) INDIA Kamlesh Khatik Rajasthan Nihal Jadav Gujarat Ajithlal Chandran Kerala Sinha Deepesh Kumar Chhattisgarh Midhun Kumar Balasubrahmanyam Tamil Nadu Jerome Vinit Charles Tamil Nadu Mohan Ukkrapandian Tamil Nadu Shon Thanghalathil John Kerala18 Ashwal Rai Karnataka19 Karthik Ashok Karnataka
Results and schedule ===2023===--------------------------------
Competitive record ===Summer Olympics===India has never qualified for the summer Olympics.Summer Olympics recordQualification recordYearResultPosition 1964''did not qualify''''–'' 1968 1972 1976''did not enter''''did not enter'' 1980''did not qualify'''''5th''' 1984'''5th''' 1988'''5th''' 1992'''10th''' 1996–2008 ''did not qualify'' 2012303 2016''Did not qualify'' 2020303 2024''TBD''''TBD''Total0/15606===FIVB World Championship===India has appeared in the FIVB World Championship only twice. They came really close to qualifying in the 2002 qualifiers, missing a place in the World Championship by one spot as they finished third among three best second-placed finishers.FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship recordqualification recordYearResultPosition 1949''did not enter''– 19527th–8th placings'''8th'''633 195621st–24th placings'''21st'''532 1960''did not enter'' 1962 1966''did not enter'' 1970 1974 1978 1982''did not qualify''651 1986752 1990''6th place'' 1994''did not enter''''did not enter'' 1998 2002''did not qualify''321 2006523 2010633 2014651 &  2018''Suspended''''Suspended'' 2022''did not qualify''''No Asian qualification were held'''''Totals'''2/198th116520128===Asian Games===During the initial years, India had an immediate success as they clinched 2 bronze medals and a silver medal in their first 7 Asian Games' campaign.Following a bronze medal in 1986 Asian Games, India did not participate in the next two tournaments due to the controversy in the Federation and the death of Jimmy George. Since then, India has seen a decline in its performance and hasn't won a medal yet.Asian Games recordYearResultPosition 1958Group stage'''Bronze Medal'''422 1962Final round'''Silver Medal'''761 1966Final round'''4th'''853 1970''did not enter'' 1974Classification 5th–8th'''5th'''532 1978Classification 7th–12th'''7th'''532 1982Final round'''4th'''532 1986Final round'''Bronze Medal'''853 1990''did not enter'' 1994 1998Classification 7th–8th'''7th'''532 2002Classification 5th–6th'''5th'''642 2006Preliminary round'''9th'''431 2010Classification 5th–6th'''6th'''853 2014Classification 5th–6th'''5th'''844 2018Classification 11th–12th'''12th'''624 2022Classification 5th–6th'''6th'''532Totals13/16 Runners-up845133===Asian Volleyball Championship===India has appeared in the finals for 18 times out of 21.Their highest ever finish being in 2005 when they ended up at the fourth place.Asian Men's Volleyball Championship recordYearResultPosition 1975''did not enter'' 1979Classification 5th–8th'''5th'''651 1983Classification 5th–8th'''5th'''752 1987Classification 5th–8th'''5th'''853 1989Classification 5th–8th'''6th'''853 1991Classification 9th–12th'''10th'''523 1993Classification 9th–12th'''9th'''532 1995''did not enter'' 1997Classification 9th–12th'''9th'''963 1999Classification 9th–12th'''9th'''862 2001Classification 5th–8th'''7th'''624 2003Classification 5th–8th'''5th'''963 2005Semi-finals'''4th'''743 2007Classification 9th–12th'''9th'''1091 2009Final round'''9th'''862 20115th–8th semi-finals'''6th'''633 20135th–8th semi-finals'''7th'''734 20159th–12th semi-finals'''11th'''633 2017Suspended 20195th–8th semi-finals'''8th'''927 20219th–12th semi-finals'''9th'''743 2023Classification 7th–12th'''11th'''523Totals19/224th1368155===Asian Volleyball Cup===India has done well in the recently introduced Asian Cup competition, qualifying for it three times. Their highest ever finish came in the 2014 edition where they beat old rivals Japan in the preliminary stage, Iran in the semi-finals before losing to South Korea in the final. They had to settle for a silver medal which extended their wait for a gold medal at the Asian level since their formation.Asian Men's Volleyball Cup recordYearResultPosition 2008''did not qualify'' 20103rd place match'''Bronze Medal'''633 20123rd place match'''4th place'''624 20141st place match'''Silver Medal'''642 2016''did not qualify'' 2018 2022Classification round10th place413Totals4/7Runners-up221012===South Asian Games===India is the most successful team at the South Asian Games having won an overall number of nine gold medals and two silver medals. Year Position 1987 1989 1991 1993  1995  1999 2004 2006 2010 2016 2019
See also *India women's national volleyball team
References