KOCHI: Volleyball has always had a special place in the heart of the state's sports aficionados. The sport is second to none when it comes to popularity in rural Kerala. So, it is perhaps no surprise that the Indian women's volleyball team headed for the 2018 Asian Games contains an overwhelming number of players from the southern state.
As many as 10 out of the 14 players in the squad, to be trained by seasoned coach G E Sridharan, is from Kerala and will travel to Jakarta Palembang 2018 with the hopes of giving their best and maybe even return with a gold, silver or bronze decoration hanging around their necks.
Of the 10, seven -- Rekha S, Sruthi Murali, Anju Balakrishnan, Jini KS, Anusree K P, Soorya S and Anjali Babu -- are part of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) while captain Minimol Abraham is employed by Southern Railways. Kandoth Aswani plays for Western Railways while young libero Aswathi R is a rookie from St Teresa's College, Ernakulam.
"Kerala were runners-up in the 66th National Volleyball Championship in Kozhikode earlier this year, losing only to the Railways. We are the highest ranked state at all age levels considering performances from the last two seasons. So it is only natural that our players dominate the national team," said Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) joint secretary Nalakath Basheer.
"Also the game is so popular in villages of Kerala where the state volleyball association is conducting projects like 'Volley Gramam' to further increase the acceptance of the sport," said Basheer. "Many local sports clubs organise tournaments across the state which helps create stars of the game," he added.
"This time, we have a team with a mix of youth and experience. And it is also great to see a number of players from Kerala, particularly KSEB, in the squad," said KSEB coach Prajisha M K.
"Players like Rekha, for whom Jakarta will be her second Games, and Jini will have a key role to play," she added. Indian women will compete in Pool B of the Asiad where their opponents include South Korea, China, Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan and Vietnam. "We have to face some of Asia's strongest sides in the first round itself. So, in order to progress from the pool, we will have to carry out our coach's strategy and play to our best," said India skipper Minimol.
"The good thing about the squad is that we have strength in depth. Even the youngsters have a lot of experience playing at the international level and the substitute players can match the performance levels of the starters," said Minimol, from Bengaluru where the national camp is being held.
Youngsters to the fore
Sruthi Murali
The very thought of representing India at the Asian Games makes Kozhikode girl Sruthi immensely proud and the 23-year-old is confident of doing well at the Games next month. "Sruthi is one of the most promising attackers in the game right now and the Asian Games will be a good test for her," said VFI joint secretary Basheer. It was at the St Antony’s Girls High School, Vadakara that Sruthi developed an interest for the game.
“However, it was at St Joseph's College, Thrissur that I became actively engaged in the sport," Sruthi said. Under coach Sanjay Baliga, Sruthi took part in the All-India Inter-University Volleyball Championship, 2015 Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship in China and 2016 South Asian Games where India won gold. Following the 66th Senior National Volleyball Championship in Kozhikode where Kerala finished runners-up, Sruthi made it to the Asiad-bound India squad.
A junior assistant at KSEB, she is busy fine-tuning herself at the camp in Bengaluru under watchful eyes of coach Sridharan.“We hope to give in our best this year and bring home a medal," said Sruthi, the daughter of N Murali, who works at The New Indian Express Kozhikode, and Padmini.
Anjali Babu
Anjali was one of the finds of the last nationals where her serves and spikes helped Kerala reach the final. The 21-year-old right-wing spiker made her debut for Kerala in the 2015 nationals at the age of 18.
Hailing from Cherupuzha in Kannur district, Anjali began playing volleyball while being a sixth standard student at St Joseph's HSS. She continued her career at the Sports Authority of India centre based at the Government Brennen College, Thalassery and has recently received an appointment order from the KSEB.
Anjali has represented India at the junior level having played in the 2014 Asian Junior Women's Championship held in Chinese Taipei where they finished sixth and also in the 2017 BRICS Games held in Guangzhou, China where she faced the likes of hosts China, Brazil and Russia. And her dream of playing for the senior national team is now a stone's throw away as she prepares for the Asian Games.
"It is the dream of every athlete to play for your country. I feel like I have made good progress, but there is still a lot to improve on," said Anjali.
Jini K S
Hailing from Chendamangalam in Ernakulam district, Jini captained Kerala to glory in the 40th junior national championship held in Dehradun in 2014 and has not looked back since. The setter famous for her drops began her professional career at the Kannur Sports Division and appeared for Krishna Menon Women's College, Kannur. Jini represented India at the sub-junior and junior levels and is fast becoming a pivotal player in the senior team despite only being 21 years old.
Asian Games will only be another addition to a long list of international events that Jini has been to already. Daughter of Kavattu Shaji and Seena, Jini has worn the Indian colours at the Asian Youth Championship, Asian Junior Championship and the South Asian Games.