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Prime Volleyball League brings professionalism into the game: Guru Prasanth

Hyderabad: Hyderabad Black Hawks’ universal player Guru Prasanth has been impressive in the ongoing Prime Volleyball League. The 21-year-old is grateful for the league and says such a league makes players better. The lanky youngster says the league has brought professionalism into the game. “The mentality of the players has changed after playing in a […]

By Shiva Krishna Gundra

Published Date - 20 February 2022, 08:59 PM

Prime Volleyball League brings professionalism into the game: Guru Prasanth — Impressive: Hyderabad Black Hawks Guru Prasanths (left) goes for a spike during a match.

Hyderabad: Hyderabad Black Hawks’ universal player Guru Prasanth has been impressive in the ongoing Prime Volleyball League. The 21-year-old is grateful for the league and says such a league makes players better.

The lanky youngster says the league has brought professionalism into the game. “The mentality of the players has changed after playing in a league like this. The league helped us improve our game. Training with a foreign coach (Ruben Wolochin from Argentina) and a video analyst also changed our perspective. We are approaching the game more statistically. We have video sessions every day and we can rectify our mistakes. Before going into a match, we can analyse and make a pre-game plan accordingly. Our country needs this system. It should be more data based which is lacking in India. We need more infrastructure and need video analysts,” he added.

The former Under-21 national player also added that playing in a league, where top foreign players are taking part, made them more mature. “In U-21, we were less matured and playing at rookie level. In the league we have to be more cautious and that made us more mature as a player. Every team has pro players.”

Guru Prasanth, who started as a blocker before shifting to be a universal player due to his coach Dakshinamoorthy, says playing alongside the likes of Luis Antonio Arias from Venezuela and Henry Bell helped him a lot. “I am grateful that I am playing with top foreign players such as Luis and Henry. Luis is my opposite number and I can get a lot of tactical information from him. He is guiding me as a senior. He played in the Olympics and has a lot of experience. Though Henry is injured, he is constantly guiding us and giving inputs which are very valuable.”

He is also of the opinion that every sport in the country should have a league. “Every sport should have a league like this so that our players can get more exposure. Because of this Prime Volleyball League, kids from rural and urban areas have started playing volleyball. The sport is growing. We also get to learn a lot form physiotherapists, coaches on how to maintain fitness and avoid injuries. These things help us in our career. Before this league, we lacked professionalism. The league is a big boost for the game.”

Hyderabad team, after a gap of five days, will take on Calicut Heroes on Monday and he is confident of a good outing. “We are taking this break in a positive way. We know teams have lost playing after such a long break. But we are hoping to break that,” he added.

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