“The timing of the senior nationals (to be held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, from February 7) clashing with the Rupay Prime Volleyball League didn’t come as a surprise at all,” PVL CEO Joy Bhattacharjya said during a virtual media interaction on Friday.
“I can only say this. More the opportunities there are for the players, the better it will be for them. But, I must say, in PVL, players are the No.1 priority for us,” he said.
On the likely impact of the league on Indian sport, Joy felt PVL would see the volleyballers in action after almost a gap of two years, ensured footage which the players could have a look at the end of the month-long event and keep looking ahead. “It is a huge opportunity for everyone involved in volleyball and for all those young talents watching it,” he said.
“Yes, we are looking at a longer league with more teams and more venues. But the reality of the Indian sporting league is it depends on sponsorship. We need team owners who can invest and wait for at least five years. Luckily, we have seven of them in the PVL now who are very competent and passionate about the sport, and all seven owners are involved in the managing committee. This made it possible to shift the League from Kochi (due to the Omicron threat) to Hyderabad with ease,” Joy explained.
On women’s PVL, Joy said they would try to have one, but before that would like to take one step at a time i.e. first by successfully conducting men’s league and then look out for similar leagues in men’s and women’s beach volleyball too.
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