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The Hindu
a day ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Prime Volleyball League: the prudent, viable revolution that is being televised
Tuhin Mishra was looking for a sport that could catch the imagination of the television audience. He also wanted it to be a sport in which the national team had the potential to climb the ladder in the global arena. Volleyball fitted the bill, he found out. That was some seven years ago. The Prime Volleyball League has not just injected badly needed fresh life into the sport in India, but it continues to attract new investors as well. Goa Guardians became the league's 10th team ahead of the player-auction at Kozhikode earlier this month. Growing viewership Tuhin, who was in the northern Kerala city, is excited that the fourth edition of the league could have a wider audience with YouTube streaming the action across the world. 'Last season alone, the television viewership, according to BARC, was close to 200 million, which is a huge number for a non-cricket league in India,' the league's co-founder tells The Hindu . 'The league's growth over the last couple of years has, in fact, been really good.' The Prime Volleyball League wasn't always the Prime Volleyball League, though. Back in 2019, Tuhin's Baseline Ventures, in partnership with the Volleyball Federation of India (VFI), had launched Pro Volley. That league, however, lasted just one season. From the indoor court, Pro Volley moved to a court of law after the VFI terminated the 10-year contract. Baseline won the case, in straight sets, as it were: the VFI was ordered to pay Rs. 4.5 crore as compensation. After a break of three years, the Prime Volleyball League took off. Calicut Heroes, which won Season 3 last year, was also one of the teams in Pro Volley. The franchise's owner, P.T. Safeer, says his passion for the game was shared by his partners at the Kozhikode-based Beacon Group. 'We used to conduct volleyball tournaments and then formed a club,' he says. 'When Pro Volley took off, we wanted to be part of it.' 'We had faith in volleyball,' says Tuhin. 'Pro Volley was a success; good crowds came to watch the games, the television numbers were good, and major corporates, like Rupay, Nippon Paint and Bank of Baroda, came on board as sponsors.' There are also sponsors for the franchises in the Prime Volleyball League. 'Sponsors take quite a bit of pressure off us,' says Safeer. 'Yes, we know it will take some time for the league to break even, but we are willing to wait.' Tuhin believes it could take only another three to four years for that to happen. 'Even IPL franchises took 10 years to break even,' he says. 'Actually some of our teams are almost there already.' The league should be among the most prudently managed ones out there. The entire tournament is held at one venue, over a month, thus saving on the cost of logistics. And look at the way the players' salaries are capped. The fattest paycheque this year is Rs. 22.5 lakh. Exorbitant salaries have proved rather costly for some leagues in India, with players getting paid the kind of money they would not have dreamt of. Slow and steady 'Yes, that was something we were very conscious of,' says Tuhin. 'With our background in sports management, having handled careers of several athletes, we know where the problem is when it comes to the viability of a professional league. The biggest problem is trying to pay the players too much. Every league is not an IPL. The growth in salary has to be realistic; it has to be slow and steady.' Still for Indian players, the money in the Prime Volleyball League is really good, because they used to be paid a pittance earlier. Tom Joseph, one of the finest Indian volleyball has ever produced, says that although organisers made a lot of money from hosting regular tournaments — volleyball is insanely popular in small towns in northern Kerala, where over 10,000 fans fill makeshift galleries — players like him would not be adequately compensated or even given proper accommodation. 'Even after I have played for India, I remember sleeping on benches at a school for a National championship, and now the Prime Volleyball players are provided accommodation in five-star hotels,' says Tom, who was the head coach of Hyderabad Black Hawks in 2023. 'In my time, a top player would get only Rs. 25,000 or 30,000 for an entire season, in which we would be playing a dozen tournaments over several months. Now from the Prime Volleyball League, even an average player would get Rs. 5 lakh, that too playing for just a month.' Tom points out countries like Iran and Qatar had similar leagues in his playing days. 'I have played in Qatar, and because of those leagues, the national teams of those countries have improved greatly,' says the former India captain. 'Iran used to be ranked No. 8 or 9 in Asia, behind India, and now it is No. 2.' He says because of the league, more young talents are coming through. 'Look at a player like Jasjodh Singh from Punjab, he was picked up for Rs. 14.75 lakh by Kochi Blue Spikers even though he is not an international,' says Tom. 'Volleyball is now looking attractive for youngsters. And because of the league, Indian volleyball is getting new talents, such as K. Anand, E.J. John Joseph, K. Rahul and T.R. Sethu.' That, says Tuhin, is one of the aims of the league. 'We want to see the Indian volleyball team faring well at the international level, and everyone's dream is to see India playing at the Olympics,' he says. 'And the talent is there, and we are improving our ranking, too. Even FIVB, the international volleyball governing body, is keen about India; they have appointed a coach for India, Dragan Mihailovic, and they are paying him.' Reasons for optimism There is reason for Tuhin to be optimistic. India does not merely have a strong tradition in volleyball — the country has produced world class men like Jimmy George and contested the final of the World under-19 championship in 2003 — but there is also plenty of talent around still. Volleyball is one of the very few truly global sports in which India can aspire to do well. Tuhin says the game is getting increasingly popular, going by the television viewership. 'The best thing about the television audience, we found, is that lots of women and kids are watching the league,' he says. 'It is not just mostly men — as is the case with most sports broadcasts — that tune into the league. The split between men and women is 53-47.' Safeer believes the league's business model also should help. 'This is a league in which the franchises also have a direct stake in the ownership,' he says. 'So we will get a fair share of the league's profit.' The Prime Volleyball League indeed has the potential to become one of Indian sport's success stories.
The Hindu
a day ago
- Health
- The Hindu
‘Traditional eating habits being sidelined'
Kozhikode-based Paristhithi Samrakshana Samithi organised a discussion on 'The Chemistry of Food' at the Police Club on Friday ( June 20, 2025). Deliberating on the topic, Unnikrishnan Nambeesan, a retired professor, said that traditional eating habits had been sidelined. 'The Western world has historically set the standards,' he explained, citing how traditional ingredients like coconut oil were once labelled unhealthy. His lecture also explored the chemical composition of food. 'Phytochemicals are naturally occurring compounds that provide nutritive benefits,' said Mr. Nambeesan, highlighting the scientific links between food and disease prevention.
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Gokulam Group invests in road restroom start-up Travlounge
Travlounge, which provides premium restroom services to travellers on road, has received an investment of ₹25 crore from Sree Gokulam Group of companies. Promoted by the Kozhikode-based Beacon Group, it has already set up units at Walayar in Palakkad and Adimali near Munnar. Travlounge's co-founder P.T. Safeer said that apart from building more units, the company would also be partnering with existing businesses that operate on the highways across the country. The services offered to travellers include hygienic toilets, cafeteria and sleeping pods. 'We have had 1.5 lakh customers so far at our Walayar unit, which became operational two years ago,' Mr. Safeer said. 'We have received a lot of interest from States outside Kerala as well, especially Tamil Nadu.' Travlounge's app was launched here by Kerala's Minister for Tourism and Public Works P.A. Mohamed Riyas, who said the government was also open to the idea of cooperating with the project. The start-up was seed-funded by Abdul Azeez of AZCCO Global. Gokulam's chairman Gokulam Gopalan said his company made the investment in Travlounge because the business had a lot of potential. Mamta Mohandas, brand ambassador, said she wanted to be part of the company after discovering Travlounge's maiden unit on her drive from Chennai. 'This was something travellers, especially women, badly needed in India,' the popular actress said. 'I wanted to be part of the company.'
Time of India
08-06-2025
- Time of India
Modelling choreographer arrested for raping woman on false marriage promise
Thiruvananthapuram: Kazhakkoottam police on Sunday arrested a Kozhikode-based modelling choreographer for allegedly raping a techie working at the Technopark on a false marriage promise. The arrested person was identified by police as Fahid, 27, of Thiruvambadi. Police arrested the accused in Kozhikode and discovered several nude photographs of other women stored on his mobile phone. Police said the accused got acquainted with the woman, who is also into modelling, last year during an event. The accused also defrauded lakhs of rupees from the women. According to the complaint, the accused after promising to marry the woman took her to several hotels and sexually exploited her. "The rape took place in Feb, March and April 2024. Later he withdrew from the relationship. In the meantime, after the woman's parents intervened in the issue the accused conveyed his willingness to marry her to the parents as well. However, he withdrew from the marriage and it led her to a state of depression," said police. The woman decided to approach the police after discovering that the accused was involved with several other women as well. The complainant also produced proof of money transferred to the accused's account on several occasions. The accused even blocked the woman on his mobile and social media profiles, police said. The accused was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days after being produced before a court as per Section 376 (2) of the IPC for rape.
The Hindu
02-06-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
Rare migratory bird sighted on Kappad beach five years ago identified as Caspian Gull
Kozhikode-based ornithologist Abdulla Paleri has reported the sighting of a rare migratory bird for the first time in Kerala. The Caspian Gull, which often migrates to northwest India during winter, was sighted on Kappad beach in Kozhikode in February 2020. But it took Mr. Paleri five years to confirm the species and realise that it was indeed quite a miracle to find such a bird in Kerala. 'The Caspian Gull, usually found in Central Asia, visits northwestern India, such as Gujarat, in winter. It was sighted in Goa only once and never again in south India until this time,' Mr. Paleri said, adding that the bird must have straggled to Goa and Kerala, for which no specific reason has been identified. The Caspian Gull is very difficult to identify since it closely resembles the Steppe Gull, which regularly visits the Kerala coast every year. Hence, it was initially confusing for Mr. Paleri to notice minor variations in the nature of the species, such as the shape of the head and beak. He uploaded the images he had taken to the international community of gull experts for identification. After several months, two of the experts, Joachin Bertrand and Lou Bertalan, commented that it could be the Caspian Gull, considering features such as its wings, posture, and legs. Mr. Paleri further uploaded the images to eBird, an online platform for birders all over the world. Subsequently, two internationally acclaimed ornithologists Oscar Campbell and Hans Larsson confirmed it as a bird from the Caspian Gull species, and no expert has challenged the findings in the past five years. 'It usually migrates in very small groups. This one may have straggled off,' Mr. Paleri said. A straggler is a bird that irregularly goes off its normal migratory route or ground. The Caspian Gull (Larus cachinnans) is one of the rarest gulls to be seen in India. They move from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, then to southern and eastern Kazakhstan and western China. They winter in Asia and Africa, he added.
