There have been times when Indian volleyball has drawn international attention, and also times when it has been down on its knees. Through the ups and downs, GE Sridharan's life has run alongside the chequered course of the game for over 60 years. His love for volleyball would develop into a lifelong obsession, not merely with playing it, but creating systems and pathways for emerging players to shine, where there were none.
It all started in a school selection line in Hyderabad in the 1960s. "I was actually much more interested in cricket," Sridharan recalls of his childhood. "Near my house, there was a cricket ground. There were several star players, like Mohammad Azharuddin, present. We used to play with them."
Volleyball got into his life simply by force. His father was a military man who thought that cricket was too tender. "He used to tell me, you have to go and play some tough game," Sridharan says. It is that impulse that brought him to the volleyball trials in 1964 -- and directly into the realm of rejection.
"The coach removed my name first," he remembers. "He said 'you are very small, you don't have the fitness'."
Chance and perseverance came to his rescue three days later. A district education officer saw him at practice near his home and instructed the coach to take him. "I was shocked," Sridharan says.
The visit to Delhi that followed was life-altering. "I was very young, carrying all my bags, telling everybody I'm going to Delhi for volleyball." But the root of it went deeper.
"If children want to become sportspersons in any sport, their mother needs to be interested," he says. "My mother was very interested in volleyball. She would bring me to the ground. She kept telling me, you will play."
Since then, volleyball has been his sole preoccupation. "From three o'clock to seven o'clock in the evening, I was in the volleyball ground," he says. "Everybody knew Sridharan would be there." Sixty years later, he still is.
The highway was by no means a smooth one. Education fell away early. The frustration got out of hand after his Class 10 exam in 1970. "On the way back, I saw the Musi river. I fell into the river with all my bags, saying my education is finished." He came back later, when he heard that everybody had failed, rewrote and passed, but by this time, volleyball had cast a spell on him.
What followed was survival. "I was very much struggling," Sridharan says, repeating the phrase. "I was a coolie. I was getting three rupees per day." He had one ambition in life. "My only aim was to become a good volleyball player."
A telegram decided his next move in 1970. It came from Ramana Rao, a figure Sridharan calls a 'legend' of Indian volleyball. The message was plain -- to head immediately to Chennai. He had just ten rupees; the ticket cost nineteen. "Two of my friends helped me. I got exactly nineteen rupees," he says. "I came with one suitcase without having anything to eat."
Chennai was the new starting point. Sridharan rubbed shoulders with some of the best players in the State Bank of India team. "I was only watching them, what great volleyball players." Meanwhile, his career saw moves to banks, railways, Tata, an international professional league in Italy and finally Hindustan Photo Films and the Sports Authority of India.
It was Jimmy George who opened one of the most momentous doors in his playing life. "Jimmy George was one of the topmost players in the world, among the top ten," Sridharan says, placing him firmly in the global elite.
In 1982, Sridharan was confused by a telegram he received from Jimmy during an Asian Championship camp in Patiala. "It said, 'Reach Rome immediately.' I didn't even know where Rome was properly," he recalls. He later realised that Jimmy was calling him to play in Italy. What ensued was a whirlwind rush to get his travel documents ready. "The first day we played together, immediately a contract was signed for me," he says. "He was a match-winner, stylish, always getting points, always winning matches for the team."
Sridharan played in Italy for five years. "It was very difficult, a very high standard. Every day we had training and a match -- for eight months the focus was completely on volleyball." Exposure, he believes, made the difference. "Playing the Italian league gave me the experience to reach greater heights."
As a competitor, Sridharan had his moment of glory in the 1986 Asian Games. History was made in the match against Japan, which saw India win a bronze medal. "We never had a medal before," he says. "In the changing room, the coach asked how we would do. I told him, sir, we will win today." India did, and the outcome strengthened his faith in the importance of preparation and belief.
G.E. Sridharan’s work won national recognition early in his career when he was named an Arjuna Awardee in 1982. As he recalls, “Yes, I received the Arjuna Award in 1982.” The moment was personal and bittersweet, having flown straight from Italy for the ceremony, he remembers that “nobody was there when I was receiving my medal,” but still felt the quiet pride of official recognition.
“I came directly from Italy to Delhi and I received it,” he says, a line that captures how hard-won that honour was after years of struggle and long stretches away from home.
Despite his position as captain, he was already thinking of his future as coach. "Being a coach is not like being a player. It is a 24-hour job," he says. "A coach has to sacrifice the family, satisfy the players, satisfy the federation, satisfy the government. If he doesn’t produce results, he becomes a bad coach."
After he retired in 1990, he took up that difficult path. When asked what made him choose coaching, he says simply, "Only my passion." He attended the National Institute of Sports, received various qualifications from FIVB and progressed through age-based teams to the senior national team. His philosophy was clear. "Whatever knowledge I got from my coaches, I want to put into the children."
Decades later, the nation recognised him again, this time for coaching, when he was named for the Dronacharya Award (the 2007 list, conferred in 2008). The prize acknowledged a coaching career that transformed India’s youth setups and produced international-class players. Sridharan still smiles when he talks about that day, “Yes, my wife was there. My son was there.” For a coach who spent more time building players than chasing headlines, the Dronacharya was a public affirmation of a private, lifelong project.
Sridharan's approach as a coach was influenced by his years of experience in studying the Indian and foreign systems. "My coaching is only on the volleyball court. I don't do it outside," he says. The truths of the sport can be discovered within the dimensions of the court, he believes, adding that while training is important, long-distance running is not the solution.
"Six people are on the ground in each team. There is only a distance of three metres to cover. So why should players go for long-distance running?" Rather, he believes the focus should be on reaction, agility and explosive movement.
"Earlier, the training included physical, technical and tactical aspects," he says. "Now the psychological aspect comes first." This is why he poses one question to his players before they train or play. "Are you ready for war?" If not, someone else plays.
Sridharan says the lack of exposure rather than talent has been the ultimate failure of Indian volleyball. "We have tall boys, strength, agility," he says. "The only thing is that we are not getting good exposure." His prescription is blunt. "We have to play 20 to 30 matches with top teams like Japan, China, Korea and Iran. Not Sri Lanka and Nepal."
His quest to discover hidden talent among the underprivileged led him to open an academy. "Everything is free, accommodation, food, education," he says. The condition is simple: "This program is only for underprivileged children."
His dreams have boiled down to a single one at age 72. "India should be in the Olympics," Sridharan says. "Whether I am the coach or not, India should be at the Olympics and World Championship. I hope my dream will be fulfilled shortly."