All eight teams’ Captain along with Mr. Joy Bhattacharjya, Mr. Tuhin Mishra, and Ms. Lalita Nayak
New Delhi, 3rd February 2023: As the stage is set for another exciting season of RuPay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23, all the team captains along with tournament organisers addressed a press conference on Friday at the Renaissance Hotel in Bangalore, Karnataka. Amid the widespread craze among the fans to witness live volleyball action in the city, RuPay Prime Volleyball League CEO Mr. Joy Bhattacharjya spoke on the massive success the tournament has witnessed since the culmination of the first season.
“It’s a very special occasion for us as we begin our second season after a tremendous first season. The league has increased in every way possible. We have Mumbai Meteors joining the pool of teams this year. We have partnered with International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) as well. The Volleyball Club World Cup is set to come to India and the stakes are exponentially higher this season as the winners will get to play in the tournament.
“We have truly upped the game, and the quality is much better this season. We are set to go for a cracking season and this will be the best volleyball ever seen in India,” Mr. Joy Bhattacharjya asserted.
This time, the RuPay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23, which is marketed and promoted exclusively by Baseline Ventures, will be spread across three cities – Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Kochi, with the final to be played on March 5th in Kochi. Addressing the future plans to sustain the popularity of the sport, Tuhin Mishra, Managing Director & Co-Founder, Baseline Ventures and Co-Promoter of RuPay Prime Volleyball League said, “We can expect a women’s league in the future. Our target is to establish the men’s league for the next few years. In the meantime, we are searching for a good basket of women with a group of 70-100 players to form a core group of players. We are planning to expand our league across the Northern region as well and there are discussions to bring in a team from North India sooner, rather than later.”
He also went on to express gratitude to principal sponsors RuPay for their constant support in the journey. “I have worked in this industry for 23 years. A lot of times brands come forward to partner with you but the relationship is often transactional. With pride I can tell you when we approached RuPay, they were so willing to come forward – they wanted to do a lot more than just putting up a logo. What they are doing for Volleyball is unprecedented in India,” Mr. Tuhin Mishra said.
Representing RuPay, Ms. Lalita Nayak, In-charge Marketing NPCI, also addressed the media on the occasion, as she released a video titled Volley Good Culture showcasing the work currently being done at the grassroots level in the sport since the last year with the help of their association with the Prime Volleyball League.
“We believe volleyball is the future of India as it is one of the most played sports in India. We also believe grassroots development is important in the sport as it will be a big boost for players in India and it will also give a chance to the talent in India. We try to commit to whatever we undertake. And we always want to associate with sports because we know sports bring gems and millennials together. We have also continued to expand the sport across the North-East region with the Brahmaputra League,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Season 2 of RuPay Prime Volleyball League will see its first match on February 4th with the defending champions Kolkata Thunderbolts facing off against the hosts Bengaluru Torpedoes in what promises to be a cracking contest.
Thunderbolts Captain Ashwal Rai, who led the team to the trophy in the first season, spoke on the upcoming encounter and said, “We are ready to face our opponents. We have trained well and we know the players well who are present in the opposition team. There is no pressure of being defending champions, but it feels like a privilege. And we will hope to perform like the Champions.”
Bengaluru Torpedoes Captain Pankaj Sharma also spoke on the upcoming match and said that the presence of the home crowd will give a major boost to his team in the match, “We have worked hard in the training sessions. We are the home team and we are confident the presence of fans in Bengaluru will help us go past a tough team like Kolkata Thunderbolts. We hope to get off the mark in a good way.”
The league will be telecast LIVE on Sony Sports Ten 1 (English), Sony Sports Ten 3 (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 (Tamil & Telugu) & Sony Sports Ten 2 (Malayalam) channels in India and will be streamed on Volleyball World TV outside the Indian subcontinent, starting February 4, Saturday.
About RuPay Prime Volleyball League
RuPay Prime Volleyball league powered by A23 is India’s only private sports league in India. After successfully completing Season 1 in February 2022, the league is back with Season 2. Season 2 of RuPay Prime Volleyball League is scheduled to take place between 4th February – 5th March 2023. This will also be the first time the league will feature in front of passionate sports fans across Bengaluru, Hyderabad & Kochi. For PVL Season 2, the commercial arm of the global body of Volleyball (Fédération Internationale de Volley Ball, FIVB), Volleyball World has joined hands with PVL coming on board as the International streaming partners in a multiyear association. Sony Sports Network continues to be the host broadcaster & the fans are looking forward to the exciting 31 games to be played in Season 2 of RuPay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23.
About RuPay
RuPay, the flagship product of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) came on board last year as the title sponsor of the Prime Volleyball League and has acquired the title sponsorship rights for three years.
