Himachal Pradesh volleyball team finalised after retrial amid controversy

A fresh trial for the Himachal Pradesh volleyball (men) team was conducted at the Indira Gandhi State Sports Complex on Sunday, following allegations of favoritism and irregularities during the earlier selection process.

Seventy players from across the state participated in this retrial, which aimed to ensure fairness and transparency.

This retrial replaced four players selected during the December 26 trials: Amit Ranta, Ankit Sharma, Tavish Sharma, and Ishan.

Notably, Tavish Sharma, the son of the coach accused of favoritism, neither attended the trials nor was selected in the final list.

The earlier trials were canceled after accusations of nepotism and an opaque selection process sparked outrage among players.

Allegations included the inclusion of underqualified candidates while excluding deserving athletes.

The Himachal Pradesh team is now set to compete in the Senior National Championship from January 7 to 14.

While the retrial has restored some confidence, many players continue to advocate for systemic reforms to prevent such controversies.

Selected Players:

Dishant Raja, Raman, Rohit Kumar, Sunil Kumar, Jitender, Sameer Jaswal, Arjun Sharma, Paras Pundir, Narinder Singh, Rajat Thakur, Kartik Verma, Ronit Tokruwan, Akshay Kapta, Pramod

Standby Players:

Abhay Thakur, Ujjwal (Raja), Kartavya Thakur, Shivanshu Chauhan