By Azera Rahman, IANS
New Delhi : Svelte figures running on the beach, toned arms tossing the ball in the air and hitting with all their might. Women’s beach volleyball, till now enjoyed in India as just a vicarious sport on TV, is soon to be launched the country as a sporting activity.
Volleigirl, a concept more popularly known as women’s beach volleyball, is the brainchild of Beyond Thought Marketing Solutions Pvt Ltd (BTMS), which aims at introducing this Olympic sport to young Indian women here as a career sport.
Mohak Gupta, director of BTMS, said he has brought the sport in India with a big vision.
“The vision is for the young Indian eve to face the world on her own terms and take up this fast growing Olympic sport and make a splendid career out of it.
“The vision is the creation of India’s women’s beach volleyball team which will represent the country in the 2016 Olympics,” Gupta told IANS.
Shrugging off doubts on whether the sport will make a mark in India, Gupta said he has every reason to believe that it will be a successful venture.
To begin with, Gupta doesn’t think the sport will be hindered by the fact that India doesn’t have as many beaches as other countries where this sport is popular.
“Well, the Indian coastline is over 7,000 km long. So there is no shortage of playing area. Additionally, this game is increasingly being played in land-locked cities as well. All you need is to follow the specifications of laying down a court, if you want to play professionally and a net and a ball. And you are ready to play!” Gupta said enthusiastically.
Irvin Soares, chairman of the Volleyball Federation of India’s (VFI) beach committee – the game’s apex body in the country – similarly feels that the sport has immense otential.
“Women’s beach volleyball has great potential in India. We have a significant, young women population proving themselves in every field including sports and in activities that the country is not reckoned for.
“BTMS and VFI’s beach committee are working on a well-planned career path for players. No efforts will be spared to create enough awareness amongst the immensely talented college girls in India,” said Soares, whose home state Goa could be one of front-runners in the sport.
Four girls each from different colleges in India will be shortlisted by the VFI beginning this month.
The federation will then hold state-level selection trials for girls aged between 16 and 25 years and will prepare a list of 100 girls for further tests.
The 48 short-listed will undergo a 30-45 days of rigorous training.
The final 24 will be picked in November by playing matches amongst themselves at a venue to be finalised soon.
The best four will be titled as ‘volleigirls’ for season one. With support from BTMS and VFI, the four ‘volleigirls’ will be given advanced training for participating in the international circuit.
“BTMS will have a contract with the girls for 3-4 years and give them the comfort of a good career so that they can focus on playing the game with utmost dedication,” said Gupta.