Volleyball is a sport full of gigantic players whose average height is six feet and seven inches. Invariably, the shorter players remain under-appreciated. Generally, it’s the attackers and blockers who receive all the attention, accolades and rewards.
Of the six players in a team, there is one with a different jersey colour than the rest of his teammates, and he/ she is referred as libero, who is the second line of defence against the attackers of the opposition.
Their key roles are receiving serve, digging attacks, and making passes from the second row to set up the team’s offence.
However in India, liberos have remained in the shadows and have not been given due credit.
K. Anand, the libero of Delhi Toofans in the recently concluded Prime Volleyball League (PVL) in Chennai, has been an exception to the rule. Toofans lost to Calicut Heroes in the final. In fact, it was a great performance given that it was the team’s debut in the PVL.
The 21-year-old from Kerala has been a game-changer with his exceptional digs. His acts of jumping high and celebrating a point made the crowd involved with the game. To put it short, he was the livewire of Toofans.
In fact, after seeing one of his diving photos and of Anand’s on twitter, former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes wrote: “At least you (Anand) managed to get into the same frame as the ball — I need to work on my reach!”
K. Sai Prakash, CEO, Toofans, lavished praise on Anand. “He has been the darling of our team and the crowd when it comes to performances. He is the only libero in this edition so far to be given the Game-changer of the Match Award. He creates a lot of energy in the team and remains a great asset. I hope to see him as truly an International professional. With PVL gaining popularity, I hope Anand realises one of his dreams of becoming a professional who can play in foreign leagues. I hope the Indian sports system helps him in his quest.”
THE GIST
Born in the volleyball-crazy Kannur, Anand started in Class VIII, when he played with seniors. It was in Thrissur that his role of becoming a libero was established. His coach Shivakumar changed his position from that of a setter/ attacker to libero when he was in Class XI and there has been no looking back. At the SAI Centre in Kozhikode, Anand’s journey as a proper volleyballer began.
He represented the Kerala sub-junior, junior and senior teams in the National Championships. Anand strongly believes the sport has not really acknowledged the role of liberos but it is slowly changing with the advent of PVL.
“Liberos are not valued enough because they are not getting points. But in modern volleyball, we have many important roles like reception and defence. When an opponent serves — going all out while doing it — it becomes difficult to receive the ball. Liberos do it. That’s one of the main points of defence. PVL is changing the perception of libero,” he said.
Liberos are generally agile, athletic and alert, and according to Anand, they need courage to showcase their talent. “We need courage to dig the balls, The mindset is important. We need courage to save the team. If the ball is going far from us, we need the courage to dive,” he said.
His celebration of jumping high and pumping his fist when his team wins a point is a delight to watch. Anand said it is his style and he celebrates it in the same way when he or his team wins a point.
“I do it if anyone from my team wins a point. I just need to celebrate. In my mind, I always think I have to take my point and you need to celebrate every point,” said Anand, a huge fan of French libero Jenia Grebennikov.
Learning from foreigners
This is his third season in the PVL. Having featured in the previous two editions for Hyderabad Black Hawks, Anand is revelling in his role for Toofans. He said he has learnt a lot from the foreigners in the league.
“The league has helped me become a professional as the foreigners have taught me many things, especially, Lazar Dodic (Serbia) and Daniel Aponza (Colombia). They tell me how to ‘dig’ and the art of movements.”
Anand emphasised that there is a lot of difference between the playing styles of India and Europe. In foreign leagues, attackers have power and precision while the liberos’ defence is top-class, which forces one to be at his best all the time.
“However, we need to change many things to get better and PVL is the right step in that direction,” said Anand.
It’s not just the fans and Toofans teammates who have appreciated Anand. Mumbai Metors’ libero Hector Mata of Venezuela is all praise for the youngster.
“Hector said I am doing good and have all the qualities to play in foreign leagues. That means a lot coming from a foreigner of a rival club,” said Anand.
He, however, has an unfinished dream. “I want to be in the National senior team. That’s my dream. I was in the National camp last year but was not selected and I hope to be named in the coming years,” he said.
