Pro Volleyball | Mohan Ukkrapandian’s dream is to see India at Olympics soon

Pro Volleyball | Mohan Ukkrapandian’s dream is to see India at Olympics soon

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Pro Volleyball

The commencement of Pro Volleyball has given a new ray of hope for many volleyball players across India and a new direction to the sport in the country. Now, India skipper Mohan Ukkrapandian has set his eyes on the Olympic qualification for the Indian men’s volleyball team sometime in near future.

Things were not at all the same when Ukkra, as he is lovingly called, was in school and wanted to be a cricketer. Cricket is not an Olympic sport and a cricketer can’t even dream to represent his country at the sporting extravaganza. However, life took a u-turn for the sportsperson from Tamil Nadu as he took up the sport after his father’s advice at a young age. And now he is the captain of the Indian side and one of the best setters in the volleyball circuit. After leading the Indian side in numerous international championships, he has now taken up the responsibility of the Kochi Blue Spikers side in the inaugural edition of the Pro Volleyball League.

The international setter has now set his eyes on the Olympic qualification for the Indian team and he believes that the league will be helpful in more ways than one in achieving this dream.

“Playing in the Olympics is the only aim for us. We are getting a good opportunity of playing with players like David Lee and Paul Lotman who have played in the Olympics and World Cup and all. The experience of playing against them will be a great help for us in the coming days. Definitely, it is an amazing league which is being conducted and it has given an opportunity each and every one. Once you are coming on the TV, you are popular and your performance doesn’t go unnoticed,” Ukkrapandian told SportsCafe.  

“This is very helpful for Indian players to play with foreign players. We have David Lee in our team and he has a lot of energy. Whenever the team is going down, he will talk with each and every player in the team, if we are losing the set as well, he will advise us that we have time and we can catch up well. He has the experience of playing for around 10-15 years and has seen pressure situations many times in his career in the past. He keeps us motivated whenever we are losing. Just like him, foreign players in all the teams have more experience as compared to the Indian players and this will help us to grow and get to learn a lot so that we can compete well in the future.”

After getting picked in the auctions for Rs 6.5 lakhs, Ukkra was in action straightway from the very first day of the league as he bagged the Player of the Match award for his on-field heroics which took the Kochi side to a brilliant 4-1 win over U Mumba Volley. From then, neither Ukkra nor his side have looked back in the league as they managed to win four out of their five league matches in home and finished second on the points table with eight points from five games and their only loss came against table toppers Calicut Heroes in the Kerala derby. Being the captain of the side Ukkra understands his role in the team really well.

“Managing the side inside the court is important for me. Setter has the potential to lead the team and he is the one who decides the play inside the court, he has the power. Once I am not leading from the front, we can’t go to higher places. If I am not the captain also, I still have to lead the team inside the court, I have to take up the responsibility,” explained the 32-year-old setter.

“Players know what to do as they are informed ahead of our matches. So, there is nothing like that every time I have to manage them and all but if when we are going down, I have to boost them up and motivate them.” 

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Speaking about the Kerala derby against Calicut Heroes and the packed house in that game in Kochi, the Blue Spikers captain said, “It is a very good sign if we compare that game with other matches. Once the audience wants to watch matches in the stands, the game will grow. When we have support, we know that we have to give our best for that. The crowd plays a great role for sure.”

Ukkra is one of the experienced Indian players in the ongoing league with international experience of more than 11 years now. The 6.23 ft tall setter has been a constant in the Indian team for more than a decade but the memories are still fresh in his minds from the debut international game that he played back in 2007. Ukkra considers the match against Pakistan in his debut tournament - Second Asian Central Zone Volleyball Championship as one of the finest moments in his sporting career. 

“I played for India for the first time in 2007 and that was a great year which I will cherish forever. I had made it to the Indian team for the first time and GE Sreedharan asked me to grab the opportunity with both hands in the series in Pakistan. We knew that India-Pakistan matches are always exciting irrespective of the sport you are playing and this was in Pakistan. We won the final against them and the trophy,” the Madurai-born setter, who got the Best Setter Award in that championship, informed. 

Ukkra, who idolises Iran skipper Saeid Marouf and Brazilian Bruno Rezende along with Indian star KJ Kapil Dev, credits all his success with the sport to his father and coaches Dakshinamoorthy (from his early days at the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu)  and GE Sreedharan who have always encouraged him to move forward and take up bigger challenges in life. He is also of the opinion that with two of his coaches Dakshinamoorthy and Sreedharan being setters, he got a lot of help and advice to progress a lot in the sport.  

“Both Mr Dakshinamoorthy and Sreedharan sir were setters so they showed me the right way in my professional career and used to give me tips. They taught me how to do well as a setter and despite not being the captain, how a setter can lead the side,” Ukkra explained. 

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Led by Ukkra and coached by TC Jyotish, the Kochi Blue Spikers have already made it to the playoffs and they will take on the Chennai Spartans in the second semi-final on Wednesday. The captain is of the opinion that they have a good side which can pose a challenge to all other teams and they are one of the best sides in the league. 

“All the three coaches are really helpful for the players and it is going very well for the coaches and the players here. We have to do well in the semi-finals and finals as we have a good opportunity to break into the finals now. We are having a chance to win the league and we are one of the favourites for the title,” asserted the Kochi captain. 

“Among the Indian players, Manu Joseph and Prabagaran S are doing well and they are the main players. Libero Hari Prasad and young Praveen Kumar have also contributed for us. Praveen is doing well while coming as a substitute for us. I have seen him play for Tamil Nadu and know his potential after playing with him for the last few years.”

Being a player from Tamil Nadu, Ukkra has always received huge support from the crowd at the Nehru Indoor Stadium in the state capital. But this Wednesday he will be up against the Pro Volleyball franchise of the city representing the Kochi team in the second semi-final of the tournament. However, he underlined the fact that there will be many in the crowd to support him and his adopted home Kochi in the marquee clash. 

“In a player’s life, you never know that you can play for the same team for years. That will not happen. We feel great to play at home but we are expecting good support for our team in Chennai as well. I have played so many matches in Chennai for Tamil Nadu and for Indian Overseas Bank in various tournaments. I am hoping that there will be a good crowd in the stands and support for us as well. There might be a lot of fans coming and cheering for Kochi here,” Ukkra concluded. 

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