MOA to conduct Beach Volleyball selection trials for 38th National Games

Maharashtra Olympics Association will hold women's beach volleyball selection trials for the 38th National Games, resolving disputes within the state volleyball body.

MUMBAI: In what is being seen as a relief for the sportspersons, the Maharashtra Olympics Association (MOA) on Tuesday informed the Bombay high court that it will conduct women’s beach volleyball selection trials to select the state team for the forthcoming 38th National Games in Uttarakhand, scheduled to commence on 28 January. The selection trials had cone under a cloud amid a row within the Volleyball Federation of India creating divisions within the state volleyball association.

MOA to conduct Beach Volleyball selection trials for 38th National Games

The MOA statement came in response to a petition filed by a faction within the state volleyball body, alleging that the state Olympics association has not organised selection trials for the team that will represent the state in the national games.

The dispute, which had been ongoing within the national volleyball body since 2020, stems from a claim between two factions over the executive body of the Volleyball Federation of India. This dispute seeped into the Maharashtra volleyball community, dividing it into two camps, especially after a letter from the national volleyball body stating that due to the lack of a benchmark event in the recent past, all state teams that participated in the 36th National Games would be invited to participate in the 38th National Games. The letter directed the state Olympics associations and state volleyball associations to conduct trials for selection of the state team that will go to the national games.

The plea by the Maharashtra Volleyball Association stated that two factions from the state body claim eligibility for the selection trials that are supposed to be held by the Maharashtra Volleyball Association. The petition, filed through advocate Amir Arsiwala, however, stated that the faction which filed the plea was the legitimate team since they had participated in the 36th National Games and, hence, fit the eligibility criteria for selection trials.

It also stated that the Maharashtra Olympics Association’s inaction in taking the selection trials will adversely affect Maharashtra Volleyball Association’s chances to participate in the upcoming national games.

In this scenario, the Maharashtra Olympic Association’s letter before the vacation bench of justice Dr. Neela Gokhale and justice Ashwin Bhobe, stating that it would conduct the selection trials and invite both the factions, comes as a relief for the sportspersons.