How to organise a volleyball league, the Mizoram way

KOZHIKODE: When the Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) on Wednesday announced they were set to re-launch the Indian Volleyball League that had been stuck in the quagmire due to infighting among VFI ranks, a little far from the announcement dias was a team playing whose very presence could embarrass the national body.  For years, it has been struggling to reorganise the league that they had painstakingly organised in 2011.

Mizoram, a tiny state with just eight districts, have been punching well above its weight in sports arena. As the VFI and other national bodies are lamenting lack of patronage and sponsorships for organising professional leagues, Mizoram is showing its counterparts the way forward. Mizos have been successfully conducting leagues in football, basketball, taekwondo, badminton and volleyball, the last one set to kickstart its third season next month.

A brainchild of the Mizoram Volleyball Association, the Pro-league was started in 2016 and saw participation of six men’s team and three women’s team in 2017. The tournament lasts for almost a month and each team can recruit two outstation players. As a result, some of the prominent spikers like former India captain Gurinder Singh, Selva Prabhu and VP Hafeel have turned up for various Mizo clubs. As per Vardingliani, a former youth national player and vital cog in the premier league side Power Department SC, the guest players earn upto Rs 50,000 while the local players fetch a little above Rs 20,000.

Hafeel, an international from Kerala, was given five-star accommodation and felt playing in Aizawl was a royal experience. “They take good care of the players. The atmosphere is electrifying as thousands throng the stadium,” Hafeel said.

The games are played before a full-house and mostly comprises of families. “With cheergirls dancing around, the game is elevated to a different level,” Hafeel added. Vardingliani felt the game has improved a lot. “The players are getting paid, the tickets are getting sold out and more youngsters are getting hooked to the sport.”

Another reason behind the surging popularity of the game is that it was live telecasted in LPS News- a local channel. Eric Lansangliana Pautu, head coach of the women’s team for the ongoing nationals, said the viewership has increased over time. “Everyone has benefitted from the league. The winning men’s club will get `1 lakh, women’s winners will get Rs 50,000 and the channel gets good ratings,” Eric said.

But if one ponders whether the Mizos have a bright future in volleyball, the optimum answer should be wait and see. Being diminutive and short, it’s the height that’s their achilles heel. The tallest spiker in the women’s team is a little over 5 ft 7 inch. Eric and his team know that the journey won’t be easy. “Our men’s team didn’t come here because we don’t have players tall enough to compete,” Eric said. Still it’s because of their passion that the Mizos organise leagues. Mizoram model, in a way, is reviving Indian sports. But, have we acknowledged it enough?

shan.as@newindianexpress.com