G V Madhav hails Prime Volleyball League for boosting Indian volleyball

G V Madhav praised the Prime Volleyball League (PVL) for its positive impact on Indian volleyball, especially regarding player incentives. He also expressed concerns about India's performance in Asia and urged the Volleyball Federation of India to work with PVL owners

Hyderabad: The Prime Volleyball League (PVL), now in its fourth edition featuring 10 teams, including the new entrant Goa Guardians with Indian cricketer K L Rahul being part of the management, will commence here on October 2. The league has definitely ensured the improvement of the national teams’ performance, according to former international G V Madhav.

“The huge incentive is, of course, the money given to the players for the desired stability in their lives. The fact that the PVL has breached the Rs 500 crore valuation with three or four teams nearing break-even is a very positive sign for Indian volleyball,” Madhav informed Telangana Today.

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“Like other major sports leagues, PVL too has its own big names. For example, Jerome, Shamshuddin, and Vinit have been paid Rs 22.5 lakh each per season,” he said.

“Definitely, the most decorated player in the PVL so far is David Lee, the central-blocker who represented Team USA in the 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medal-winning team,” Madhav recalled.

“Now coaching Bengaluru Torpedoes, Lee is expected to have a huge influence, though the PVL has had three different winners so far,” he added. “The best part of the PVL is the ecosystem built around it, with 800 players registering,” he said.

However, Madhav is concerned that the Indian teams are struggling at the Asian level because the Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) is in a limbo.

“It is imperative for the VFI to make amends and find a way to have the desired understanding with Baseline Ventures (owner of PVL) in terms of official recognition in the interest of the players,” Madhav appealed.

“Around 2010, we were ranked between five and seven in Asia. Now, we have crossed the double digits, and this is despite the Pro League being in place,” said Madhav, who is an Assistant Commissioner in Customs and GST.

Reflecting on Hyderabad Black Hawks in the PVL, Madhav said the team management had been very proactive in promoting the league and even conducted an inter-schools tournament with Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) extending complete support.

“Yes, it is important for the Hawks to have Telugu-origin players in the line-up to give the team that ‘Apna Hyderabad’ feeling,” said the 59-year-old Madhav.

On the Hawks’ chances, the former international said that coach Rajesh Kumar would have a daunting task. However, the brilliant Guru Prashant had been retained, and the team had other key players like John Joseph, Aman Kumar, Shikhar Singh, and foreign imports Paulo Lamounier, Vitor Yamamoto, and Brazilian setter Paulo, he added.

On volleyball in Telangana, Madhav said, “It would be better to talk less about it given the current state of affairs.”