New Delhi: Having played two seasons and coached in three, David Lee has spent enough time to understand the functioning, administration and nitty-gritties of volleyball in India. Which is why the USA great was able to overcome every obstacle to guide the Bengaluru Torpedoes to the Prime Volleyball League (PVL) title in Hyderabad recently.
The 43-year-old, who was part of the victorious 2008 Beijing Olympics side, has not just seen but also contributed to the growth of volleyball in India over the last six years. He says that volleyball has evolved with new perspectives impacting the sport positively in India.
“The PVL is a direct result of how the Indian team is doing overall. I’m seeing the younger generation make a bigger impact at an earlier age whereas in the past you always had some of these guys that were grandfathered in that had held on to these positions for quite a long time,” Lee, who also clinched the bronze with USA at the 2016 Rio Olympics, told HT.
“Now you’re seeing young players who are really good. That’s the biggest positive, seeing young guys get chances and then taking advantage of them when they get an opportunity.”
Indian volleyball hasn’t achieved much even at the Asian level since the 1980s. They did raise a glimmer of hope in terms of potential by finishing runners-up in the 2003 U-19 World Championship in Thailand.
India have never qualified for the Olympics, and last played at the senior World Championships in 1956. India last won an Asian Games medal (bronze) in 1986, but have never stood on the podium at the Asian Championships. But their performance has slightly improved, and they finished with a silver at the CAVA Nations League earlier this year.
“You’ve seen the Indian team do better in some of these international competitions. The biggest setback for Indian volleyball is the defense and ball control. What you’re seeing in Japan, Korea, China is that they prioritise passing, defense and ball control over everything else,” said Lee, who had also guided the Torpedoes to the PVL final in 2023.
“India has way more athleticism than these countries. It’s just that they’re missing the foundation, which is defense, passing, and that’s where you should start. That’s really where they’re lagging. But culturally, like the smash, the spike, a big block is what we’re looking for. These things, the Indians do just as well as most in the world. It’s just the defensive side that needs to be elevated.”
To make matters worse, the federation politics in the last decade has also hurt the sport. The sports ministry had suspended the Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) in December 2016 due to infighting. The suspension was revoked in July 2017 and the body was granted annual recognition. However, VFI was again suspended in December 2019.
In February 2024, the Delhi high court had put VFI elections on hold over compliance issues. Later, an ad hoc body was formed to govern the sport. Everything was put in order after elections were held in June following which an executive body was formed with Virender Kanwar as president with observers from the international volleyball federation (FIVB), Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and sports ministry.
The Pro Volleyball League — a joint property of VFI and Baseline Ventures — was held in 2019, but VFI terminated the 10-year contract with Baseline following disagreements between the two entities and the federation.
In June 2021, Baseline Ventures joined hands with a few original franchise owners from Pro Volleyball League to launch a new league called Prime Volleyball League, this time with no involvement of VFI. Four seasons of the revamped league have been held and the tournament has expanded to 10 teams.
The 2025 season was held over 24 days. Lee feels a longer PVL is needed for Indian volleyball.
“It would definitely help just for these guys to be together and then to have a more consistent coaching group. The national team is something that’s an issue as well. It’s like how do we get these players away from their department teams for a longer duration so that they can actually work towards a common goal, other than just a two-week training camp and then go play international competition,” said Lee.
“A longer league, a longer federation training camp and more exposure to international volleyball in general. The more they can see the rest of the world, the faster you can catch up.”
