Chatting with Ryan Rozario, the senior India volleyball coach , G.E Sridhran recollects the efforts he put in moulding some of the ace volleyball players of this country.
Consistency and dependability are the two qualities which most accurately describe G.E. Sridharan, the 53-year-old senior India volleyball coach from Coimbatore who has played in more than 200 international matches and was in the Italian league as a pro along with the legendary Jimmy George.
A versatile setter in his heydays, Sridharan’s best effort as a coach came in 2003 when he guided the under-19 team to the silver in the world championship. However, quite soon he fell out of favour with the Volleyball Federation of India (VFI).
“The VFI always had the idea of roping in a foreign coach. So, they brought in Brazilian Augusto Jose Sabattini to coach the senior team. But, I never once thought that it was the end of the road for me because I always believed in my work,” said Sridharan.
“I wanted to keep myself occupied. So, I decided to put my heart and soul, along with former international star V.C. Ramalingam, for the benefit of the Kovai Volleyball Academy, which was formed about nine months ago.
We brought in promising players from places like Kerala and Tamil Nadu and started grooming them. It paid rich dividends. Today, there are various clubs and institutions waiting to pounce on our players, who have played at the State and national levels.”
“I am all the more elated because one of our Academy players, K.P. Shaheem, has also been selected to represent the senior India team this year.”
Did that prompt the VFI to give the job of training the seniors to you?
“I am happy that the Federation has once again recognised my hard work; but it is going to take some time for me to build the team because it is totally new,” said Sridharan.
Tough trials
True, it is going to be a daunting task for the coach because some of the biggest names in the sport like all-rounder Tom Joseph, blocker R. Rajeev and setter Kapil Dev have been shown the door.
“The VFI has brought in eight new players, all in the under-23 age group. It’s the right thing to do. The youngsters are eager to prove and I can see in them the thirst to succeed,” he added.
He said the new-look team is the best available for the future.
“There’s a lot of unity and sense of togetherness, which was missing in the old pack.”
With volleyball out of the Government’s priority list and the volleyball federation injecting fresh blood, it’s going to be tough journey for Sridharan, yet his outlook is still optimistic.
“I have faced tougher tests before. This is going to be just another one for me.”
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