The Calicut Heroes produced an incredible performance against Hyderabad Black Hawks (5-0 win) to advance to the semi-finals of the Prime Volleyball League earlier this week. The side will take on the Kolkata Thunderbolts for a place in the final on Friday but Jerome Vinith, the Calicut Heroes captain, isn’t taking too much pressure ahead of the knock-out game.
“We’re in the semi-finals. We are not thinking much about what we’re going to do. We will just enjoy our game. We go and play. It may be a semi-final but it’s just another match,” Vinith said in the pre-match media interaction on Thursday.
Vinith’s Calicut Heroes made a poor start to the tournament, losing twice in a row before making a splendid comeback to beat Bengaluru Torpaedos and Kochi Blue Spikers to give themselves a chance for a semi-final spot. In the must-win clash, the Heroes stunned the high-flying Black Hawks.
The 29-year-old Vinith insisted that the nature of training made a huge positive impact on the side in this tournament.
"Absolutely. There is absolute professionalism and it can change any game,” Vinith replied to a query from Hindustan Times.
“The players didn't know how to train, how to take rest, how to recover and what should be the diet. Many players don't get that opportunity. So, it's very nice to get that opportunity.”
{{/usCountry}}“The players didn't know how to train, how to take rest, how to recover and what should be the diet. Many players don't get that opportunity. So, it's very nice to get that opportunity.”
{{/usCountry}}Youngsters galore
This edition of the Prime Volleyball League saw a significant number of youngsters making a mark and Vinith seemed impressed with the quality of their game.
"You can see how many youngsters are playing here. Almost the whole team of Hyderabad is young. They play so well. Every youngster is a prospect for the future. Guru, Manoj, Goswami, Vignesh, Ajith Lal, many guys are there. Most players who are participating in this league are youngsters only. So it's a good thing,” said Vinith.
Vinith also mentioned that rubbing shoulders with experienced players like David Lee further helps the youngsters in gaining necessary insights into the game and body.
"It's very helpful. We learn many things. David Lee is an Olympian, he's 40 and he's still playing. No one at that age is playing in India. We learn many things on how to take diet, how to control the body. It's a big opportunity for all Indian players,” said the Calicut heroes captain.
Hoping for advanced training in future
In an earlier press conference, Black Hawks’ Guru Prasanth had revealed that their side is preparing with video and statistical analysis, which is something new in Indian volleyball. Vinith said that he hopes for a similar level of preparation in future editions.
"Two years back, I enjoyed a lot of such analysis. Now, we're thinking to do it next year. This is very useful for the team. Maybe, in the coming season, every team will be using this,” said Vinith.
Watch RuPay Prime Volleyball League Semi Final 2 - Kolkata Thunderbolts vs Calicut Heroes – Live on SONY TEN 1 (English), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi), SONY TEN 4 (Tamil & Telugu) & SONY TEN 2 (Malayalam) channels at 6:30 pm IST on 25th February 2022.