Fabio Azevedo, the general director of FIVB, which is the governing body for the sport of volleyball, heaped praise on the way the inaugural edition of Pro Volleyball League (PVL) was organised by Baseline Ventures and Volleyball Federation of India (VFI).
He felt that the Indian volleyball team, which is currently ranked 131 in the FIVB rankings, has the potential to become stronger in the coming years, which it could achieve using a platform as the PVL.
“I want to congratulate Baseline Ventures and Volleyball Federation of India for organising such a great event. We were positively surprised with the presentation,” he said.
“Volleyball has a great potential in India and we [FIVB] want to work together along with VFI and Baseline [Ventures], and we want to see Pro Volleyball League become stronger and stronger. We also want to see the Indian national volleyball team, which is ranked 131 in the world, become stronger in the coming years. It has a great potential.
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“This league is among the best in the world. What these men have done is priceless for Indian volleyball. To raise a league from scratch and achieve a great level of consistency is incredible,” Azevedo said.
Luis Alexandre, director of FIVB, Asia/Oceania, said, “We are all proud to see what they [VFI and Baseline Ventures] have done and accomplished. We are sure that the project can be much better in the coming years. It’s a pleasure to be here and we hope to come back very soon.”
The president of VFI, S. Vasudevan, said that the objective for the country’s governing body is to make the national volleyball team the No. 1 in Asia.
“This is the next milestone for the volleyball players and organisers like us. This (PVL) is a successful tournament because of Baseline [Ventures] and the promotion provided by Sony Pictures Network. Our objective is to make India the No. 1 team in Asia.”
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Tuhin Mishra, who is the co-founder and managing director of Baseline Ventures, said the level of support the league has received in its first season fills the organisers with confidence.
“We were very sure of the sport of volleyball. We wanted to put the focus on the players. Firstly, the players make the sport and then the fans make the sport. The fans who have come to watch in Kochi and here in Chennai give us a lot of confidence and give us the belief that we are going in the right direction,” he said.
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