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"There have been a lot of positives from the league," Chennai Blitz's Middle-blocker Akhin GS

Chennai Blitz's talismanic middle-blocker Akhin GS is impressed with the way the Prime Volleyball League has helped Indian volleyball players.

By Soumya | Mar 7, 2024 | 3 Min Read

The Prime Volleyball League continues to captivate fans with its intense competition. The Chennai Blitz team led by Akhin GS is simply mesmerising the spectators with sharp spikes and smart blocks.

There was a time when the late AK Chitrapandian, a former international player and an able administrator, used to organise the John Memorial All-India volleyball tournament at the Mayor Radhakrishnan stadium, Egmore, where the best used to congregate. Matches used to be held under lights and stands jam-packed. This was the best that volleyball could offer the city. The void left by that is filled by the Prime Volleyball League. It has managed to attract the best talent from within the country and abroad. Akhin who is from Kerala, but trains at Chennai, is one of the favourites among fans for his agility and all-round play.

“The Chennai team has a lot of youngsters, who are performing quite well. It is as though they have been waiting for an opportunity to show their skills. They play with an excellent team spirit and contribute very well to the team’s cause,” said Akhin. One of the plus points of the volleyball league is that the national selectors and officials too get to witness the country’s talent pool.

“There are quite a few young talented players in the Chennai Blitz team. Of the youngsters who have impressed this time, Joel Benjamin deserves a special mention. He is performing much better than what was expected of him. He has an excellent future and is quite a potential prospect,” opined Akhin.

Volleyball has a very good following in the south and perhaps is one outdoor sport played in almost all the schools and colleges in India. Several former players believe that this volleyball league has a positive impact on the players.

“There have been a lot of positives from the league. One is that players have learnt what professionalism is all about. Players now give a lot of importance to fitness and diet, thanks to the professionalism injected by the league. This helps them think of ways of improving their performance,” he insisted.

“This league is an excellent platform not only for seniors but also for the youngsters. The league’s quality will also encourage and propel the youngsters to do better and even dream of playing for the country one day,” added Akhin. The Chennai team has had mixed results so far. But they are still fighting and looking for a place in the knock-outs.

“We have played four matches so far and have won three. We are currently in the sixth position right now and if we win the next two matches, we will go up on the table. It is a big advantage to have crowd support. To perform at home, with the crowd backing, is a big incentive and surely will motivate us to do well. We don’t see one team as a tough opponent. All teams are performing well. Each team aspires to reach the top 5 and perform equally well. So we will go all out in the coming games.”

The ace blocker insists that the league has fine-tuned the skills of the youngsters and this has benefitted the national side too. “Teams (league) are performing well and the players are performing better than expected of them. Youngsters who are playing in the league for the first time are on their toes, with so many other youngsters waiting to grab their chances. This in itself is a strong motivating factor to do well. So in the bargain, the best from the league will get into the national side and the national team will have a wider pool of talented players,” he said.

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