Why volleyball won't be part of National Games 2023 in Goa

The ad-hoc committee currently running the daily affairs of the federation cited lack of time to select teams.

Despite India’s stellar performance at the recent Asian Games in Hangzhou, where the Indian volleyball team surprised many, the sport will not be featured in the National Games 2023, which is set to commence in Goa from October 26. The decision, made by the ad-hoc committee appointed by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to oversee volleyball’s administration in India, stems from concerns about the fair selection of participating teams for the National Games.

The ad-hoc committee, which was established in mid-June, faces a challenging task. The committee was responsible for both conducting the elections of the Volleyball Federation of India and selecting the eight teams for the National Games 2023. However, the absence of clearly defined qualification criteria has left the committee in a quandary.

S. Gopinath, a former international volleyball player and a member of the IOA’s ad-hoc committee told Sportstar, “We don’t have an undisputed criteria to qualify the teams. If we select eight teams, we should be able to defend it. That is the problem faced by the ad-hoc committee.”

The IOA’s guidelines stipulate that National Games teams should be selected based on the rankings from the last National championships. However, the last Nationals were conducted by the unauthorized Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) in February in Guwahati, which led to a lack of consensus.

Another option was for the ad-hoc committee to conduct a National championship to determine the participating teams, but time constraints, financial limitations, and other logistical hurdles made this unfeasible. Gopinath explained, “We are only a temporary body, a lot has to be done, a lot of money is involved (to hold Nationals). And the National Games dates have already been announced.”

He added, “So, whichever yardstick is adopted, definitely, we will be drawn to the court, and the competition might get stalled. And the elections will get delayed.”

Commitment to VFI Elections

Given the complexities of selecting teams for the National Games, the ad-hoc committee and the Games Technical Conduct Committee (GTCC) decided that conducting the VFI elections should take precedence. The ad-hoc committee aims to ensure that the elections take place as soon as possible.

Gopinath noted, “The elections should happen by the end of this year.” The committee is in a hurry to fulfill its commitment within an extended deadline.

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Way Forward

Volleyball enthusiasts who were looking forward to the sport’s participation in the National Games 2023 will be disappointed by this decision. Volleyball was one of the 43 sports originally scheduled for the event, alongside athletics, field hockey, football, lawn tennis, table tennis, skateboarding, netball, and judo.

While volleyball’s absence from the National Games is a setback, the ad-hoc committee’s focus on conducting the VFI elections could pave the way for a more organized and transparent future for the sport in India.