From taking up volleyball for job to being the costliest player of Pro Volleyball – The Ranjit Singh story

There is an amazing growth of sporting leagues in India ever since the success of the cash-rich Indian Premier League and various sporting federations are joining this current trend of starting a league of their own. The recent entrant is the sport of volleyball which hasn’t got great popularity in India leaving aside the southern parts of the country. But, when the auctions were held for the inaugural edition of Pro Volleyball, India international Ranjit Singh from Punjab became the costliest player of the league as he was picked up by Ahmedabad Defenders for a whopping Rs 13 lakhs. 

“Becoming the costliest player at the auctions will be a motivating factor for me. Ahmedabad franchise has faith on me and I have to repay them with some good show during the league.”

“A few of the senior boys were playing volleyball near our home and they had landed up getting a job through sports quota as well. They always used to say that at least one can get into the army on the basis of sports quota and that is where I wanted to support my family and play the sport which can give me a job in the future,” said Ranjit.

He and his brother also managed to earn some money while playing for the village team in the local tournaments and the money earned was given to their mother to help their family in getting some household things for the family.

However, the professional training started for him only when he joined the sports hostel in Jalandhar. This was the first time he had stepped out of his village and had to undergo a lot of struggle. He said that, at times, he wanted to go back home for the weekends but it was his elder brother who advised him to remain focussed on the sport. The hardwork that he put up there gave him an opportunity to play the junior nationals for Punjab in 2005 at the age of 14 and they clinched a gold the same year. He continued playing for the junior state team before making it to the national junior volleyball team in 2008. 

“I still remember that I had got a call from my friend and then got a letter from SAI regarding the trails being held in Vizag which was far away from Punjab and my parents and the coach were unwilling to send me because of financial constraints but brother convinced them and came in my support. I knew no one at the trials but got selected to play for the junior national team out of around 120 boys there,” informed Ranjit, who refers his elder brother as his first Guru. 

Ranjit’s professional volleyball career and the childhood aim of getting a job took a different turn when he got a call from ONGC. A more professional set-up there helped him to get regular calls from the senior national camp and finally, in 2012, he found a place in the senior Indian team during Asia Cup. Since then, Ranjit hasn’t looked back in his career and kept on achieving something or the other and continued to give his best plating for the country. He got the responsibility of being the captain of the side in 2014 which he accepted with both hands and that yielded a good result for India as well. 

“Bagging a silver medal at the 2014 Asia Cup when I was the captain will be the most memorable moment in my career. In the Asian Games (2014) as well, we had lost the quarter-final match but came back well in the classification match to finish fifth. I was really delighted when we clinched a gold in the SAAF Games in Guwahati in 2016,” recollects the international setter.   

“Life meinkuchhhaasilkarte ho naa sabsezyadakhushi pita ko hoti hai (Father is the happiest person if someone achieves something great in life) My father had a photo of mine in the police uniform after I joined Punjab Police and he used to proudly show it to the villagers back home. I was depressed and was completely shattered after his death. I wanted to leave the game but my brother and mother supported me. They lifted my spirits and got me back into the game,” explained Ranjit. 

“With the organising of the league, I think the sport will grow in India. There will be a more professional set up in volleyball now and many youngsters will be attracted towards the sport. This will be a perfect platform for the younger generation of volleyball players. It will become a career option for many aspiring sportspersons as not all players find a place in the Indian team and not all get jobs but now, with the league coming up the players can think of making some money in spite of failing to get a job. Earlier only players from camps made it to the next level but, here in the league there is a rule of two junior players in the team, so a player doing well there will draw the attention of the selectors or coaches and can get into the team, asserted Ranjit.

Speaking about the Ahmedabad Defenders team ahead of the league, Ranjit mentioned, “There are a lot of known players in our team. Vaishnav (blocker) and I play together in the Indian team and we are from the same batch since our junior India days. Gurinder Singh (universal) is from Punjab police and we play together as well. I have played with attacker Dilip Koiwal as well and he can be instrumental in our performance. We have a young libero who plays for the Indian Army and there is a good mixture of experience and fitness in the side. Our major target will be taking the team into the finals first.”