Volleyball Club World Championships: Ahmedabad likely to field all-Indian squad

CHENNAI: Ahmedabad Defenders, hosts India’s lone representative at the Volleyball Club World Championships, are likely to field an all-Indian squad at the six-team global tournament.

The championships are scheduled to be held at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru from December 6 to 10.

Ahmedabad, who will become the first Indian team to compete at the marquee event, secured a berth by winning the second edition of the Prime Volleyball League (PVL), hosted earlier this year.

TOI has learnt that Ahmedabad, coached by veteran S Dakshinamoorthy, has finalised a squad comprising 14 ‘domestic’ players. As per the competition rules, every team is allowed to pick ‘domestic’ players from all franchises in the league that they participate in.

“The schedule for the championships was announced only recently, so the team did not have enough time to sign good foreigners. Ahmedabad were in talks with some quality players from Serbia, but they have now signed elsewhere. They were offered a few young players from South America, but there is no clarity on whether a deal can be struck in time,” a source tracking the development told this newspaper.

It is to be recalled that Iranian Danial Motazedi and Andrew Kohut of the United States of America had turned out for Ahmedabad in PVL Season 2.

“The championships will be a great platform for the Indian players to show what they are capable of,” added the source.

Ahmedabad’s pre-tournament camp is set to begin on November 16, but the training venue is yet to be decided. Besides Ahmedabad, reigning champions Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia (Italy), Sada Cruzeiro Volei (Brazil), Minas Tenis Clube (Brazil), Suntory Sunbirds Club (Japan) and Halkbank Spor Kulubu (Turkey) will vie for honours in the global event.

Ahmedabad are in Pool A alongside Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia and Minas Tenis Clube, while Halkbank Spor Kulubu, Sada Cruzeiro Volei and Suntory Sunbirds Club are part of Pool B.