CHENNAI: The Prime Volleyball League that was held in Chennai recently was a grand success with Calicut Heroes lifting their maiden PVL trophy. Calicut Heroes beat the Delhi Toofans in the final of the third season of Volleyball League notching up a creditable 15-13, 15-10, 13-15, 15-12 win.
Veteran star Mohan Ukkrapandian, who hails from Chennai, was pleased with the way his team played to win the title. Mohan, who showed that there was no substitute for experience, was named the ‘Most Innovative Setter’ of the season. “We are really happy after lifting the trophy. This is what we dreamt of when we were training pre-season. We were fully focused on making that dream into a reality and that is exactly what we have done,” said an elated Mohan.
Jerome Vinith, too, like Mohan was excited after lifting the trophy. Incidentally, Jerome, who plays as an attacker for the Calicut was adjudged as the ‘Most Valuable Player’. “This is the most important win for Calicut Heroes and personally for me. I have waited for this opportunity for years and now finally, I have the trophy in my hands. I would say that teamwork and hard work were two key reasons that helped the Calicut Heroes win the title,” said Jerome.
Middle-blocker Danial Moatazedi, who won the trophy last year with Ahmedabad Defenders, was instrumental in helping Calicut lift the trophy this season. He echoed similar statements and said, “It is amazing as I have won back-to-back titles now with different teams. It is a feeling that cannot be expressed in words. At the start of the tournament, we lost matches but that only made us stronger because when you keep on winning, you don’t realise your mistakes, errors, or where you can improve. But we worked as a team, put in the hard work and now we can celebrate.”
The ace blocker from Iran also praised Jerome Vinith and Mohan Ukkrapandian, both of whom had a phenomenal season. “Both these players have huge talent and I feel that if they work more on their game, they can easily be among the best players in Asia,” complimented Danial.
Kishore Kumar, head coach of Calicut Heroes, was all praise for his team. He complimented the players for their hard work and also thanked the team management for giving him the freedom to coach the team. “It feels so good to lift the trophy. I feel like I have achieved something big in my life. We played the final after two years and the players lived up to the expectation. I would like to thank the management as they gave me full freedom in my decision-making. Each and every player has contributed to this success and I couldn’t be more happy,” insisted Kishore.
The league’s success prompted the Volleyball World, the commercial arm of the global body of volleyball (Fédération Internationale de Volley Ball, FIVB), to join hands with PVL as the international streaming partner in a multi-year association.