Federation urges KP govt to prioritise volleyball

KARACHI: Pakistan Volleyball Federation (PVF) secretary Shah Naeem Zafar on Monday urged Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to declare volleyball its top game because of the immense talent of the sport in the province.

“More than fifty percent talent comes from KP,” Shah told ‘The News’ on Monday. “If we look at our age-group teams and senior team, they mostly carry KP players. It is the hot spot of volleyball and KP government should declare it the top sport of the province,” Shah said.

He also urged the KP Chief Minister to make volleyball compulsory in schools of the province. “If it is made compulsory at school level, inter-school events will be held which will help us hunt top talent for national duty. We will provide coaches to schools and other technical assistance,” Shah said.

“I assure you if volleyball is made mandatory at school level of KP you will see it will give us excellent players within two years,” Shah said. Currently the biggest issue is that Swat and DI Khan which produce the bulk of the volleyball talent don’t have any indoor hall. “It is a big issue,” Shah said. “Swat and Bannu are such hot spots of volleyball that you cannot imagine. In these areas if you install net on the road thousands of people will try to come and witness the game. I request the KP government to build indoor halls in these two areas which will help us identify budding talent,” Shah said.

“If it is done we will be able to hold national events there too and it will change the whole complexion of the game,” Shah said. Currently some of the solid volleyballers of Pakistan team including skipper Aimal Khan, Waseem Afridi and Murad Jehan Khan belong to KP. The trio also play in foreign leagues. Shah was not happy with the lavatory system at the volleyball hall located at the PSB Coaching Centre, Peshawar.

“It was a big issue during National Games. The hall is not bad but should be improved further. There is no cooling system in that and lavatory system also needs improvement,” he said. Shah said that the PVF knows the importance of KP and will be doing its best to play a role in volleyball development,” Shah said. Besides KP, Sialkot is also producing solid talent but it has one indoor hall only. Shah also said that in Abbottabad too there is an indoor hall.