Indian Volleyball Players have made their nation proud in various occasions. The basic rules of Volleyball in India mention that one team scores point if they throw the ball into the opponent`s court and the opponents fail to throw it back; and can also gain point if any fault is made by the opponent team. The team that scores 25 points first wins the set, and in a five setter, the team winning 3 sets also wins the match. The game of volleyball is more than 100 years old and said to have been originated in USA. It is played all over the world, and the popularity is immense. Today there are more than 800 million players worldwide who play Volleyball at least once a week.
Popularity of Volleyball in India
The popularity of volleyball in India made it the only game to make a stable place in the South Asian Federation Games (SAF) in 1987 in Kolkata. In the year 1991, the Indian Volleyball team regained its gold medal in Colombo games.
Indian Women Volleyball Team
The Indian Women Volleyball team distinguished itself in the 1993 SAF games in Dhaka, although it is yet to make a mark in the Asian games. Indian volleyball witnessed its best in the year 2003, when the Indian team won an Asian Games title at the Rajiv Gandhi Port indoor stadium inVishakhapatnam. The Indian junior team also qualified for the World Championship at the end of the year 2002. It won the Asian Games in Iran in 2010.
Some of the volleyball players in India have won the prestigious Arjun Awards for the game, and some of them are Palaniswamy (1961), Nrijit Singh (1962), Balwant Singh (1972), G Malini Reddy (1973), Shyamsundar Rao (1974), Ranvir Singh and K. C Elamma (1975), Jimmy George (1976) and many others. Jimmy George one of India`s foremost Volleyball players, was regarded as one of the ten best players in the world.
Jimmy George
Jimmy George is often considered one of the greatest volleyball players of all time and was a member of India"s men`s national volleyball team.
A. Palanisamy
A. Palanisamy was a volleyball player from Tamil Nadu. He represented the country in the Asian Games in early 60`s. He hailed from Kallampatti near Melur, Madurai district, Tamil Nadu.
Suresh Kumar Mishra
Suresh Kumar Mishra is a former Indian Volleyball team captain in Asian Games held at Bangkok in 1978. He belongs from Laxmangarh, Sikar, Rajasthan. He was born in Laxmangarh on 25 September 1953.
Govindarajan Ramakrishnan Vaishnav
Govindarajan Ramakrishnan Vaishnav alias Vaishnav Ramakrishnan is a member of the India men`s national volleyball team. He wears the Number 1 Jersey for the Team. He also plays for Indian overseas bank volleyball team. He hails from Coimbatore.
Karunakarakurup Udaya Kumar
Karunakarakurup Udayakumar was an India men`s national volleyball team player known for his all-round skills at offence and defense and a member of the Indian volleyball team during what one many consider as the golden era of Indian volleyball.
G E Sridharan
G E Sridharan is a former India men`s national volleyball team player from Tamil Nadu, India who played during the late 1970s to late 1980s. He was the second player from Tamil Nadu to receive Arjuna Award in 1982. He is the current coach for India men`s national volleyball team and former coach for Tamil Nadu Volleyball team.
Nirmal Kaur
Nirmal Milkha Singh or Nirmal Kaur was the Indian Women`s Volleyball Team Captain.
Soorya Thottangal
Soorya Thottangal was an Indian female volleyball player. She was part of the India"s women`s national volleyball team.