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Men's national volleyball team representing India From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The India men's national volleyball team represents India in international volleyball competitions. It is managed by the Volleyball Federation of India and is currently sponsored by Sahara India Pariwar and Asics.[1][2]
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| Association | Volleyball Federation of India | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Confederation | AVC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach | Jaideep Sarkar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIVB ranking | 67 (as of 10 July 2024) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Uniforms | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| World Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 2 (First in 1952) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best result | 8th (1952) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Asian Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 19 (First in 1979) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best result | 4th (2005) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| volleyballindia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Honours
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The Indian volleyball team has had a rollercoaster ride in its history. Although they have never qualified for the Olympics, they have appeared in the World Championship twice.
Despite having little to no presence at the world stage in its history, the team has enjoyed some success at the continental level by clinching a silver medal and two bronze medals at the Asian Games. After the decline post 1980s, the team has fared well at the recently introduced Asian Cup competition, receiving a silver and a bronze medal so far.
Though the game was played informally for a long time, the first interstate volleyball tournament was held in 1936 by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).[3]
In 1951, the formation of Volleyball Federation of India gave the sport a better structure and the interstate tournament evolved into the senior national championship with the first edition being held in 1952. This platform gave birth to many talents who went on to represent India at the international level.[4]
India had immediate success after formation as they made their debut in FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship's 1952 edition. After losing to France and Czechoslovakia by comfortable 3–0 margins in the first round, they made a comeback in the 7th–8th placing round as they beat Finland, Lebanon and Israel to clinch the 8th spot.[3]
In 1955, India won the Asian Volleyball Tournament which was held in Tokyo. Three years later, the Gurudev Singh led team won the bronze medal at the 1958 Asian Games. They beat Hong Kong and the Philippines in three straight sets but could not get past volleyball powerhouses Iran and Japan, though they managed to win a set against each.[5]
In the 1962 Asian Games they managed to go one step ahead as they began their campaign with four consecutive wins against Burma(twice), Cambodia and Pakistan. Their old rivals Japan got the better of them in what was a five set thriller, with Japan winning the final set by 15–12 margin. This team was led by legendary players Nripjit Singh Bedi and A. Palaniswamy, both Arjuna Award winners, who had graduated to the senior team, which was then led by TP Padmanabhan Nair, who was also a part of the 1958 team. India has to settle for the Silver Medal which is currently their highest achievement ever at the Asian Games.[3]
After a memorable outing at the 1962 Asian Games, India finished fourth and fifth at the 1966 and 1974 Asian Games respectively, not making it to the 1970 edition in between.[3]
India did not enter into the inaugural Asian men's volleyball championship in 1975 but made their debut in the following tournament in 1979 where they finished fifth. In the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok and at the 1982 Asian Games at home in New Delhi, the Indian volleyball team saw another upswing after finishing seventh and fourth respectively, falling just short of a medal in 1982 edition after they finished at the bottom of the table among four teams in the final round, going down to the heavyweights South Korea and China in straight sets.
In the following year at the Asian Volleyball Championship in Tokyo, India finished fifth yet again without any medal. However, the wait for a medal would not last too long.[3]
In the 1986 Asian Games India sent arguably its best team ever. Led by Cyril Valloor, the team boasted the presence of former national coach GE Sridharan, K Udayakumar, who later went on to captain the Indian volleyball team, Abdul Basith, Dalel Singh and PV Ramana, father of Indian badminton star PV Sindhu.[3]
All of them were Arjuna awardees but the most special of them all and the team's lynchpin was the talented Jimmy George, an Arjuna winner himself and a legend of Indian volleyball. He had been tearing up the national circuit for a decade and also had stints at clubs in Italy, one of the best leagues in that era, along with GE Sridharan.[6]
Jimmy George towered at a height of 6'2" and had the advantage of graceful jumps. His ability in the air for a fraction of a second longer helped him in his smashes, all of which were very powerful thanks to his larger frame.[6]
All of these factors combined well together and the Indian volleyball team started the Asian Games with four victories – against Hong Kong, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.[5]
Later in the games, they went down to the home team South Korea, who went on to register another victory later, but in between the Indian volleyball team finally managed to beat powerhouses Japan, more impressively in straight sets, facilitated by Jimmy George's tremendous drive. However, they could not sustain the momentum, as they fell to eventual champions China, to end up with bronze medal.[5]
The general popularity of the sport in the country declined in the years to follow as in-fighting within federations coincided with the death of Jimmy George in an accident in 1987 and adding to it was the rise of the Indian national cricket team as a powerhouse.[7]
The Indian volleyball men and women's teams dominated the South Asian Federation Games in the nineties, winning three medals each, but it did not spark a revival, with subpar performances to follow at the 2006 and 2010 by the men after they came at ninth and sixth respectively.[3]
However, they finished fourth in the 2005 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship which is currently their highest ever finish at this tournament. They went all the way to semi-finals where they lost in straight sets against Japan and then went down to South Korea in third place match losing with a margin of three sets to one.
The 2010 and 2014 editions of the Asian Games provided some respite as the Indian volleyball men's team finished a respectable fifth with modern-day stars and inspirational captains Sinnadu Prabhagaran and Mohan Ukkrapandian leading the way.[8] The team also played at the Asian Cup, where they achieved some fine results, capturing bronze medal at the 2010 Asian Cup and reached all the way to the final of the 2014 Asian Cup by defeating Japan in the group stage, the top Asian team Iran in the semi-final before succumbing to South Korea with a margin of three sets to one. Besides couple of good performances at the Asian level, the team also managed to claim a gold medal at the 2010 South Asian Games.
The Indian volleyball men's team was ranked 34th in 2014, their best in the world, they also managed to win a gold medal eighth gold medal at 2016 South Asian Games, but just as it seemed that the sport was picking up again, an internal dispute in the VFI meant that it was banned from the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) for two years till 2018.[9]
It meant that Indian volleyball players could not travel to other leagues to play, which affected the exposure to different styles, a factor which coach GE Sridharan felt led to a 12th-place finish at the 2018 Asian Games.[9]
The Pro Volleyball League, a franchise-based tournament was started in 2019 and it featured stars like American David Lee, an Olympic gold medallist in 2008. India also gained their ninth and seventh successive gold medal at the South Asian Games in 2019.[3][10]
The men's Indian volleyball team did not qualify for the Tokyo Olympics following their loss in the Olympic qualification tournament. The team finished sixth in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.[11] They topped their group, scoring an upset 3-2 victory over favourites South Korea.[12]
T. R. Arunchalam, S. L. Gupta, Bharatan Nair, T. P. Padmanabhan Nair, Abdur Rahman, Raman Raman, S. K. Sheikuchan, Gurdev Singh. Coach: H P Kohli, Kuldip Chand Chopra (Delhi, UT), Narayan Singh Thakur
Nripjit Singh Bedi, Tilakam Gopal, Joseph, Jai Karan, Khalid, Munnalal, T. P. Padmanabhan Nair, A. Palanisamy, Des Raj, Jaswant Singh. Coach: HP Kohli
Jimmy George, K. Udayakumar, Kirtesh Kumar, Sukhpal Singh, Mehar Singh, GE Sridharan, Sandeep Sharma, P. V. Ramana, Dalel Singh, Abdul Basith, Cyril Valloor
G. R. Vaishnav, Kamlesh Khatale, Karthik Ashok, Prabagaran, Hardeep Singh, Naveen Raja Jacob, Gurinder Singh, reyant, Jerome Vinit Charles, Mohan Ukkrapandian, Ranjit Singh, Pattani Prabakaran
Amit Gulia, Vinit Kumar, Shameemudheen Ammarambath, Muthusamy Appavu, Hari Prasad Bevinakuppe Suresha, Rohit Kumar, Manoj Lakshmipuram Manjunatha, Mohan Ukkrapandian, Ashwal Rai, Santhosh Sahaya Anthoni Raj, Guru Prasanth Subramanian Venkatasubbu, Erin Varghese
HP Kohli was considered as the best coach Indian Volleyball team ever had. HP Kohli coached Indian Volleyball team during its golden era of 1950s to 1970s. He expired on 13th Jan, 1980 due to cardiac arrest.
Achutha Kurup was considered as the master tactician who guided India to its last medal at the Asian Games. Kurup was appointed in 1982 ahead of 1982 Asian Games in Delhi, but what brought him fame was a bronze medal in 1986 Asian Games four years later. Besides the medal in Seoul, Kurup was also at the helm when the Indian team won the silver in an international tournament in Japan in 1989.[15] Shyam Sunder Rao was appointed as the coach of Indian volleyball team after his success with the Junior national team. With his eyes set on a medal in the 2002 Asian Games, Sunder Rao's side missed an opportunity to end India's medal draught at the Asian Games since 1986, as they missed a place in the semi-finals by one point. However, the team went on to beat Pakistan and Chinese Taipei to finish fifth in the tournament.[16]
| Head coach | Period |
|---|---|
 Achutha Kurup[15] |
1986-1994 |
| Shyam Sunder Rao[17] |
1995–2002 |
| 2008–2011 | |
| G.E. Sridharan[18] |
2018–2020 |
| Jaideep Sarkar[19] |
2023–present |
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Jaideep Sarkar[19] |
| Assistant coach | Tom Joseph |
| Assistant coach | Davinder Singh |
| Head Physio | Utkarsh Kulshreshtha |
| Trainer | Bhaskar Borah |
| 19 September 2023 19:00 |
India |
3–0 |  Cambodia |
China Textile City Sports Centre Gymnasium, Hangzhou Attendance: 454 Referees: Wong Chi Chor (HKG), Zolbayar Ganbaatar (MGL) |
| (25–14, 25–13, 25–19) P2 Report | ||||
| 20 September 2023 19:00 |
India |
3–2 |  South Korea |
Linping Sports Centre Gymnasium, Hangzhou Attendance: 1,302 Referees: Taisuke Togawa (JPN), Yul Benosa (PHI) |
| (25–27, 29–27, 25–22, 20–25, 17–15) P2 Report | ||||
| 22 September 2023 14:30 |
India |
3–0 |  Chinese Taipei |
China Textile City Sports Centre Gymnasium, Hangzhou Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Banthom Pimthongkhonburi (THA), Agung Purwantoro (INA) |
| (25–22, 25–22, 25–21) P2 Report | ||||
| 24 September 2023 14:30 |
Japan  |
3–0 | India |
China Textile City Sports Centre Gymnasium, Hangzhou Attendance: 3,100 Referees: Alireza Gharib (IRI), Banthom Pimthongkhonburi (THA) |
| (25–16, 25–18, 25–17) P2 Report | ||||
| 26 September 2023 18:30 |
India |
0–3 |  Pakistan |
China Textile City Sports Centre Gymnasium, Hangzhou Attendance: 3,100 Referees: Fan Gaoxiang (CHN), Jaafar Abdulla Al-Moalem (BHR) |
| (21–25, 20–25, 23–25) P2 Report | ||||
The following list consists of 12 players who are called for 2022 Asian Games.[20]
Head coach: Jaideep Sarkar
# |
Position |
Name | Date of birth | Height | Spike | Block | 2023–24 Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OP | Guru Prasanth S. V. | April 11, 2000 | 2.58 m (8 ft 6 in) | 358 cm (11 ft 9 in) | 330 cm (10 ft 10 in) | Hyderabad Black Hawks |
| 2 | OH | Amit Gulia | April 25, 1998 | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | 343 cm (11 ft 3 in) | 316 cm (10 ft 4 in) | Mumbai Meteors |
| 3 | OH | Erin Varghese | April 25, 1998 | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | 323 cm (10 ft 7 in) | 323 cm (10 ft 7 in) | Kochi Blue Spikers |
| 4 | S | Muthusamy Appavu | July 10, 1997 | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) | 324 cm (10 ft 8 in) | 302 cm (9 ft 11 in) | Ahmedabad Defenders |
| 5 | MB | Ammarambath Shameemudheen | March 6, 1996 | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) | 357 cm (11 ft 9 in) | 333 cm (10 ft 11 in) | Mumbai Meteors |
| 6 | OP | Vinit Kumar | February 25, 1991 | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | 339 cm (11 ft 1 in) | 327 cm (10 ft 9 in) | Kolkata Thunderbolts |
| 7 | OH | Nihal Jadav | March 13, 2004 | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | 341 cm (11 ft 2 in) | 321 cm (10 ft 6 in) | Ahmedabad Defenders |
| 8 | OH | Rohit Kumar (c) | January 5, 1996 | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | 340 cm (11 ft 2 in) | 318 cm (10 ft 5 in) | Kochi Blue Spikers |
| 9 | MB | Ashwal Rai | February 2, 1993 | 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) | 356 cm (11 ft 8 in) | 331 cm (10 ft 10 in) | Kolkata Thunderbolts |
| 10 | MB | Lakshmipuram Manjunatha Manoj | June 9, 1997 | 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) | 350 cm (11 ft 6 in) | 330 cm (10 ft 10 in) | Ahmedabad Defenders |
| 11 | S | Mohan Ukkrapandian | May 15, 1986 | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | 324 cm (10 ft 8 in) | 307 cm (10 ft 1 in) | Ahmedabad Defenders |
| 12 | L | Hari Prasad B. S. | January 15, 1998 | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | – | – | Kolkata Thunderbolts |
India has never qualified for the summer Olympics.[21][22][23]
| Summer Olympics record | Qualification record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | L | Pld | W | L | |
 1964 |
Did not qualify | – | |||||||
 1968 | |||||||||
 1972 | |||||||||
 1976 |
Did not enter | Did not enter | |||||||
 1980 |
Did not qualify | 5th | |||||||
 1984 |
5th | ||||||||
 1988 |
5th | ||||||||
 1992 |
10th | ||||||||
1996–2008  |
Did not qualify | ||||||||
 2012 |
3 | 0 | 3 | ||||||
 2016 |
Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 2020 |
3 | 0 | 3 | ||||||
 2024 |
Did not qualify | ||||||||
| Total | 0/15 | 6 | 0 | 6 | |||||
India has appeared in the FIVB World Championship only twice.[24] They came really close to qualifying in the 2002 qualifiers, missing a place in the World Championship by one spot as they finished third among three best second-placed finishers.
| FIVB World Championship record | Qualification record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | L | Pld | W | L | |
 1949 |
Did not enter | – | |||||||
| 1952 |
7th–8th placings | 8th | 6 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| 1956 |
21st–24th placings | 21st | 5 | 3 | 2 | ||||
 1960 |
Did not enter | ||||||||
| 1962 | |||||||||
| 1966 |
Did not enter | ||||||||
 1970 | |||||||||
 1974 | |||||||||
 1978 | |||||||||
 1982 |
Did not qualify | 6 | 5 | 1 | |||||
| 1986 |
7 | 5 | 2 | ||||||
| 1990 |
6th place | ||||||||
 1994 |
Did not enter | Did not enter | |||||||
| 1998 | |||||||||
| 2002 |
Did not qualify | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||||
| 2006 |
5 | 2 | 3 | ||||||
| 2010 |
6 | 3 | 3 | ||||||
 2014 |
6 | 5 | 1 | ||||||
| & 2018 |
Suspended | Suspended | |||||||
 2022 |
Did not qualify | No Asian qualification were held | |||||||
 2025 |
Did not qualify | – | |||||||
| Totals | 2/21 | 8th | 11 | 6 | 5 | 20 | 12 | 8 | |
During the initial years, India had an immediate success as they clinched 2 bronze medals and a silver medal in their first 7 Asian Games' campaign.[25]
Following a bronze medal in 1986 Asian Games, India did not participate in the next two tournaments due to the controversy in the Federation and the death of Jimmy George.[26] Since then, India has seen a decline in its performance and hasn't won a medal yet.[27]
| Asian Games record | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | L | |
| 1958 |
Group stage | Bronze Medal | 4 | 2 | 2 | |
 1962 |
Final round | Silver Medal | 7 | 6 | 1 | |
 1966 |
Final round | 4th | 8 | 5 | 3 | |
| 1970 |
did not enter | |||||
 1974 |
Classification 5th–8th | 5th | 5 | 3 | 2 | |
| 1978 |
Classification 7th–12th | 7th | 5 | 3 | 2 | |
| 1982 |
Final round | 4th | 5 | 3 | 2 | |
| 1986 |
Final round | Bronze Medal | 8 | 5 | 3 | |
| 1990 |
did not enter | |||||
| 1994 | ||||||
| 1998 |
Classification 7th–8th | 7th | 5 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2002 |
Classification 5th–6th | 5th | 6 | 4 | 2 | |
 2006 |
Preliminary round | 9th | 4 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2010 |
Classification 5th–6th | 6th | 8 | 5 | 3 | |
| 2014 |
Classification 5th–6th | 5th | 8 | 4 | 4 | |
| 2018 |
Classification 11th–12th | 12th | 6 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2022 |
Classification 5th–6th | 6th | 5 | 3 | 2 | |
| Totals | 13/16 | Runners-up | 84 | 51 | 33 | |
India has appeared in the finals for 18 times out of 21.[28] Their highest ever finish being in 2005 when they ended up at the fourth place.
| Asian Championship record | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | L | |
 1975 |
did not enter | |||||
 1979 |
Classification 5th–8th | 5th | 6 | 5 | 1 | |
| 1983 |
Classification 5th–8th | 5th | 7 | 5 | 2 | |
 1987 |
Classification 5th–8th | 5th | 8 | 5 | 3 | |
| 1989 |
Classification 5th–8th | 6th | 8 | 5 | 3 | |
| 1991 |
Classification 9th–12th | 10th | 5 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1993 |
Classification 9th–12th | 9th | 5 | 3 | 2 | |
| 1995 |
did not enter | |||||
| 1997 |
Classification 9th–12th | 9th | 9 | 6 | 3 | |
| 1999 |
Classification 9th–12th | 9th | 8 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2001 |
Classification 5th–8th | 7th | 6 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2003 |
Classification 5th–8th | 5th | 9 | 6 | 3 | |
| 2005 |
Semi-finals | 4th | 7 | 4 | 3 | |
| 2007 |
Classification 9th–12th | 9th | 10 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2009 |
Final round | 9th | 8 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2011 |
5th–8th semi-finals | 6th | 6 | 3 | 3 | |
 2013 |
5th–8th semi-finals | 7th | 7 | 3 | 4 | |
| 2015 |
9th–12th semi-finals | 11th | 6 | 3 | 3 | |
| 2017 |
Suspended | |||||
| 2019 |
5th–8th semi-finals | 8th | 9 | 2 | 7 | |
| 2021 |
9th–12th semi-finals | 9th | 7 | 4 | 3 | |
| 2023 |
Classification 7th–12th | 11th | 5 | 2 | 3 | |
| Totals | 19/22 | 4th | 136 | 81 | 55 | |
India has done well in the recently introduced Asian Cup competition, qualifying for it three times. Their highest ever finish came in the 2014 edition where they beat old rivals Japan in the preliminary stage, Iran in the semi-finals before losing to South Korea in the final. They had to settle for a silver medal which extended their wait for a gold medal at the Asian level since their formation.[29][30]
The Indian Ad-Hoc Committee did not allow the Indian team to participate in the 2023 tournament. As a result, India still played their matches, but the results of the matches was forfeited as requested by the Indian Ad-Hoc Committee.[31]
| Asian Challenge Cup record | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | L |
 2023 |
Classification 13th–15th | 15th[a] | 3 | 0 | 3 |
India won its first gold medal at the Lusofonia Games in the 2014 edition.[32]
India is the most successful team at the South Asian Games having won an overall number of nine gold medals and two silver medals.[33][34]
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