Prime Volleyball League: Moatazedi's 'warrior mentality' pushing him forward

The intimidating spiker, who will turn up for Calicut Heroes in the nine-team league, doesn't like to compromise on his beliefs

One look at Danial Moatazedi and it becomes abundantly clear why the strapping 33-year-old calls himself a warrior. Veins popping, hair flowing, and a rich beard accentuating his menacing frame, Moatazedi's game face resembles that of a medieval bloodthirsty conqueror. Little wonder that the intimidating spiker gorges on "action stuff" online and lists period drama Vikings as his current favourite.

Danial Moatazedi (Instagram)

"You need to have a presence on the court. It is important to let the opposition know that you mean business. On the volleyball court, it is war for me," said the Iranian middle blocker who starred for Ahmedabad Defenders in the Prime Volleyball League (PVL) last season — his first — helping them win the competition. This year, Moatazedi will turn up for Calicut Heroes in the nine-team league that returns for a third edition on February 15.

"Everybody asks me why I am always angry. I don't hold myself on the court. I am blessed with the warrior mentality but my aggression begins and ends with the match," he said.

That "warrior mentality" has helped him take injustice in his stride and plough on. It is a topic too sensitive for Moatazedi to discuss, but the fact that his Kurdish roots have nipped a promising career in the bud is undeniable. The farthest Moatazedi came to representing Iran was being selected for the national camp. Beyond that, it is "politics", Moatazedi says with a shrug and a smile before adding, "those who are playing for Iran are definitely world class and much better than me."

Anything more may have repercussions. Last year, when he dared to speak for the Iranian women in an interview in India, his passport was seized upon landing in his home country.

"It is what it is," he said. "My warrior mentality keeps me going. Life is too short to hold grudges," Moatazedi, who says his long locks are an ode to Iranian women, said.

"Long hair are a taboo for men in Iran, which is another motivator for me. I like breaking taboos. Every man and woman is entitled to free will. Everyone's choices of faith, cuisine, and attire deserve equal respect."

The wisdom comes from what Moatazedi reckons was a "devastating" childhood. His father, Mortaza, was a civil contractor who earned little. "Thanks to the political situation, he was not eligible to get a government job. Work and money were hard to come by," Moatazedi said.

His initiation into volleyball was, in part, due to his elder sister who was an amateur volleyball coach. With limited avenues for women in Iran, she now works as a nurse at a skincare centre in Kermanshah, a city in western Iran where Moatazedis grew up.

Aged 7, Moatazedi took up swimming and gymnastics at the insistence of Mortaza who wanted him to become a professional sportsperson. By the time he entered his teens, Moatazedi started gravitating towards martial arts. He took up Hapkido, a Korean martial art and ended up earning a brown belt. Around the same time, he started working at a printing press for $1 a day to make ends meet.

"I was 14 then. I worked in the printing press of an advertising office where my job was to dry nylon prints," he said. He continued channeling his range in Hapkido, and even fancied a career in United Fighting Championship (UFC) but his career ended after a second-place finish at a local competition.

"I was 17 then. I won five fights on the bounce, four via knockouts. Problem was, one of the guys I beat was a referee's son and my father thought it won't help my career," he remembered.

Around the same time, a coach at Moatazedi's school spotted him playing volleyball. Impressed with his height and speed, he urged the youngster to take up the sport in right earnest.

"I was very swift on the court because I was a regular 100m and 200m champion at school. The coach introduced me to a few academies and my volleyball journey began," he said.

While Iranian national team was practically out of bounds for him, Moatazedi continued to rise through the ranks and made his debut for the highly-competitive Iranian Super League. He played in Division 1 for nine years before breaking into the main league where he plied his trade for five years, including a one-year stint at Paykan Tehran, the most successful team in the league with 12 titles.

Now a full-time gym instructor in Tehran, Moatazedi wants to share his knowledge with the Indian youngsters. "Some of them are really talented but they need to have a warrior mentality to win. Also, they need to learn to play in structure. Volleyball is like football in that sense. If you break structure, you won't get the results."

"You can jump as high as you want, smash as hard as you can, but if you are not organised, you are done. A middle blocker should have a telepathic understanding with the side blockers. A middle blocker doesn't get the ball that frequently, so it is his duty to keep the structure. I want Indian boys to learn that."

Lurking underneath that professional is also a man on a spiritual journey. About three and a half years back, Moatazedi began reading the works of spiritual leaders, including the likes of Osho, Jiddu Krishnamurti, and Jagadish Vasudev.

"It gives me peace. Spirituality has helped me accept my life and its situations. It has made me calmer, except when I am on the volleyball court," he said.