Volleyball excluded from National Games due to non-selection of teams

Volleyball has been dropped from the forthcoming National Games, scheduled to begin on October 26 in Goa. It is a major setback for the sport at a time when it has taken huge strides. Most recently the Indian men's team finished sixth at the Asian Games in Hangzhou.

The Indian men's team delivered stunning performances at the Hangzhou Asiad by beating three-time champion South Korea and higher-ranked Chinese Taipei.

The Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) has been under suspension since December 2019 due to perpetual infighting, proxy voting, and the absence of an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) to address grievances related to sexual harassment. The federation is currently being run by an ad hoc committee, formed by the Indian Olympic Association.

According to a Sportstar report, the ad hoc committee cited a lack of time to determine the eight teams for the National Games. And the committee does not want to run into any legal tussle.

“We are in a situation where we cannot recommend eight teams for the National Games without any dispute happening afterward. We don’t have 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,” former international S. Gopinath, a member of IOA’s volleyball ad hoc committee, was quoted as saying by Sportstar.

As per the IOA norms, teams for the National Games should be selected based on their ranking in the National Championships. But since VFI, now a suspended body, conducted the Nationals in February, that ranking stands invalid. For the ad-hoc committee to conduct a fresh tournament to determine the ranking is not possible due to the lack of resources and money.

Rajasthan and Kerala won the men's and women's titles.

At the 2022 National Games, Kerala men's and women's teams won the gold medals.