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Buoyant by the beach
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The Ninth National Championship to be held in the city is likely to generate interest among sports lovers
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PHOTO K. PICHUMANI
TOSS IT UP Is Hyderabad ready for some action?
The ninth senior national beach volleyball championship for men and women will be conducted by the Andhra Pradesh Volleyball Association will at Necklace Road in the first week of July.
According to L. Venkatram Reddy, Secretary, AP Volleyball Association, the tournament is likely to see the participation of at least 15 to 20 teams from all over India. He is confident that this time the number of participants will exceed that of all previous tournaments.
"This time we are planning to conduct the tournament on a grand scale. Ever since it was formally started as a sport some years ago, the popularity of beach volleyball has seen a steady rise in Andhra Pradesh both among the players as well as among the spectators. Our state has also produced some of the best players in the country," he says.
Since Andhra Pradesh has always produced very gifted volleyball players, a steady supply of talent is provided from Hyderabad and also the districts and there is no shortage of good players.
As a result a competitive spirit prevails in the sport and the level of the game has seen a steady rise in recent times. However, the players are yet a long way off from top international standards.
Although most of the time beach volleyball, as its name suggests, is played on the sandy soil of a seashore, the sport is also played at inland venues in India. In Hyderabad the organisers have decided to conduct it near the Hussainsagar lake so as to give the tournament the right kind of ambience.
The history
Beach volleyball has an interesting history. According to some reports the game was first played as far back as 1895 when sports experts decided to evolve a sport that would blend the main elements of volleyball with a greater level of physical conditioning, agility and anticipation.
Reportedly the first two-man beach volleyball game was played in Santa Monica, California, in the 1930s. After 1950 as the fitness craze swept through the USA and Europe, people took to more outdoor activity and spent a lot of time on the beaches indulging in fitness activity and it was during this period that Beach volleyball gained in popularity.
In 1987 the first official international (FIVB sanctioned) beach volleyball tournament was held in Brazil and in 1996, beach volleyball became a separate Olympic event. The two countries, which dominate international beach volleyball are USA and Brazil while there are several good Australian players who have also emerged of late.
ABHIJIT SEN GUPTA
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