by Ashis Sinha
The 2024 Asian Volleyball Championship, featuring U18 Men, U20 Men, and Senior Men categories, is set to hold open selection trials under the supervision of a duly constituted selection committee.
Aspiring players keen on joining the Indian men’s volleyball team for training and competing in the Asian Championship can directly apply to participate in the open selection process.
Jaideep Sarkar, the International Coach and Chief Coach of the Indian Men’s Volleyball Team at the Hangzhou Asian Games 2022-23, highlighted the unique circumstances surrounding volleyball in India, stating, “The non-existence and absence of a fully-fledged Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) and its subordinate state units have prompted the Government of India and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to oversee volleyball affairs in India through a constituted VFI Ad-hoc Committee.”
He disclosed that the trials are scheduled to occur at the Sports Authority of India South Centre, SAI Netaji Subhash Southern Centre, Bengaluru, from April 8th to 12th, 2024.
Prospective players must submit a fully filled scan copy of the registration form. All volleyball enthusiasts are eligible to participate. Participants are required to bring a valid passport (original and self-attested copy), 5 passport size photographs, and a photo ID with a residential address (original and self-attested copy), informed Jaideep.
“The decisions of the selection committee will be final. For U-18 players, the age criteria require being born on or after January 1, 2007, while for U-20 players, they must be born on or after January 1, 2005. Participants will be responsible for all expenses (travel, boarding, lodging, registration fees, etc.). They must arrive in appropriate sports attire at 9:00 am on the specified dates at the venue,” he added.
Final team selections for the Championship will depend on further evaluations of the team’s potential to win. For more information, registration assistance, or grievances, individuals can email or contact the liaison officer, Chetan, said Jaideep adding, “Interested players in the aforesaid Men’s categories can directly participate in the Open trials fulfilling the desired parameters & applying to the VFI Ad-hoc Committee” – advocated Jaideep Sarkar, who is also a representative of IOC Community from India for the dissemination of the global Olympic Movement.”
