Pak volleyball players need better facilities, exposure: Rahman

KARACHI: Appreciating the potential of national volleyball players, newly-hired Iranian coach Rahman Mohammdirad has said that Pakistan players needed much better facilities and exposure.

“There is no doubt that Pakistan has a lot of talent but there is a need for better facilities and equipment for training,” Rahman told ‘The News’ in an interview from Lahore.

“You know Pakistan does not have its own league. For team building you need exposure and Pakistan must play with strong teams,” he said. “Pakistan hardly plays one or two international events in a year which is not enough for building a side. If you are to develop the team you need to give it consistent international exposure,” he said.

Rahman is a big name in Iran’s volleyball coaching. A member of Iran’s team which won silver in the 2002 Busan Asian Games, Rahman has also worked with Iran’s former Argentina coach Julio Velasco (2011-2014) who made Iran Asian champions twice besides guiding them to the fourth place in the World Grand Champions Cup in 2013.

Rahman has also been an assistant to Iran’s former Serbian coach Slobodan Kovac. He also coached Iran’s famous club Shahrdari Varamin who claimed the title of the 2019 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball in Chinese Taipei.

The 43-year-old has been preparing Pakistan senior team for the last 42 days at Lahore for the Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship slated to be held in Japan’s cities of Chiba and Funabashi from September 12-19.

“Pakistan government will need to contribute to volleyball’s development. There is a need for huge investment as talent is already there. I have been working with a team which is getting better and better. You know we hardly got two and a half months’ time to prepare for the Asian Championship but still we hope to deliver in the continental event,” Rahman said.

“Exposure is absolutely necessary. Look, Iran is among the world’s top ten teams. It has a sound national league, plays in the World Championships and Olympics and so many other events and so its players develop faster,” he said.

“There are 16 players in the camp with me for the Asian Championship and I am satisfied with the growth of the unit so far. The big issue here is the basics and skills. I am working hard and hopefully will be able to raise a strong side,” he said.

Rahman feels that Pakistan are in a tough group in the Asian Championship. “Yes, it’s really tough. Iran are among the world’s top ten sides. Thailand are also a strong and fast developing unit. They have invested a lot in volleyball. They play very fast volleyball and we have to block them. Hong Kong are a weak team with no popularity in the international circuit and we will overcome them,” he said.

“The Asian Championship is a very important event as the top two sides from there will make it to the World Championship which will be held next year in Russia. This is a great learning opportunity and we will try our best in Japan,” Rahman said.

Pakistan are in the Group B with top seeds and holders Iran, Thailand and Hong kong. The Group A features hosts Japan, India, Qatar and Bahrain. The Group C carries Australia, China, Sri Lanka and Kuwait. South Korea, Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia have been clubbed in the Group D.

Pakistan finished seventh last time and so are direct qualifiers.

Rahman wants to work for a long time with the Pakistan team. “Definitely it’s a potential unit and I want to work with these guys for a long time,” he said.

This correspondent has learnt that players as well as Pakistan Volleyball Federation (PVF) are happy with the way Rahman is working. And it is expected that he will be kept at least until the 2023 South Asian Games which Pakistan will host.

Meanwhile, the PVF contacted Qatar and Turkey for a training tour ahead of the Asian Championship but both these nations have their own commitments in that time-frame which means Pakistan will not be able to get any foreign tour before the Asian Championship.

It has been learnt that the PVF is considering sending the team a bit early to Japan and manage some warm-up matches ahead of the continental event. Sending a team to Iran was also an option but the idea was dropped because of the Covid-19 situation.