Pro Volleyball | Dilip Khoiwal’s long-lasting relationship with volleyball and Gujarat
Many volleyball players across India, especially those who played at the international level, had a dream of having a professional franchise-based volleyball league for a long time. Like others, Dilip Khoiwal had also dreamt of that which has turned into a reality with Ahmedabad Defenders now.
Hailing from a Chittorgarh district in Rajasthan, Dilip is someone who has kept wandering from one team to the other in Senior National Volleyball Tournaments because of his job with the Income Tax Department. He played for Delhi, his home state Rajasthan before settling down in Gujarat’s historic city of Ahmedabad in 2015. He has been staying there for last five years and plays for the Western India state in the Senior Nationals now.
Dilip, who started taking up the sport seriously only at the college level, was quite tense during the Pro Volleyball auctions as he was not a part of the Senior Nationals in 2018 and the 2019 edition was yet to take place. Having played for the senior national side in 2014 Asiad, he was not a part of the Indian team for the Games last year. However, he had not one but two great pieces of news coming from the auctions which were held in December last year. Dilip was picked up by the franchise from his new home Ahmedabad for 3 lakh rupees while his younger brother Suresh Khoiwal was also picked up by Kochi Blue Spikers.
“I was really afraid during the auctions as it happened before the nationals and last time, I didn’t play the senior nationals. But, Ahmedabad franchise kept an eye on me and the Gujarat association was supporting me a lot as well. I played at the state championships and they saw my performance there as well. My brother started with 1 lakh and went for a good 1.8 lakh,” Dilip revealed during an exclusive chat with SportsCafe.Â
“Everyone in the family was really delighted the moment they got to know about our selection in the auctions. I was in the middle of a game at that time and then received calls from people back home and my friends. The league has made the entire family happy and proud that we both are a part of the tournament.”
Sports runs in the blood of Khoiwal family as Dilip’s father Beniram Khoiwal was a big fan of many sports and played hockey and athletics before taking up volleyball as a sport. Dilip, who didn’t get any formal coaching before making it to the junior national camp, mentioned that he has been influenced by his dad and after he played for the senior Indian team, his younger brother was inspired to take up the sport as well. Despite being a banker by profession, Beniram was actively involved in sporting activities that drew his two sons into volleyball.Â
“After playing consistently while studying in 11th and 12th, I represented Rajasthan in the U21 category. In 2004-05 there was a zone-wise selection camp for the Indian junior team and I was shortlisted for that. But, despite having a good record, I was not selected as I didn’t have any proper playing position prior to that. I had never received proper guidance and used to play both as a central blocker and an attacker prior to that,” explained the Ahmedabad attacker.
However, getting rejected from the junior side gave him a reality check and when he got the call again Dilip was sure that he is going to take up the attacking role in the side. “Next time I was clear about my position. I got good guidance from many seniors after the previous camp and as I was going into this professionally and started playing as an attacker.”
Dilip got the first-hand experience of representing the country in 2009 when he was selected for the junior national team. He had made it to the last 19 during a camp before the Asian Youth Championships in 2008 but failed to get into the final 12-member squad. However, a bronze medal for the Indian side in the continental event had ensured it a place in the World Youth Championships in 2009 where Dilip got his first chance as a junior India player.
Dilip’s transition from a junior India international to the senior team didn’t take that long as soon after the inaugural edition of the Indian Volley League in 2011, he was drafted into the senior camp. He also played the Junior World Championship at that period and his attacking skills were too impressive to ignore and he was selected for the 2011 Asian Men’s Volleyball Championships held in Tehran where the Indian team finished fifth.
“I played in the Indian Volley League in 2011 which gave chance to the young players to play with the seniors. I did put a good show which got me a call from the senior camp. My performance in the Junior World Championship also mattered a lot at that time and I was selected in the Asian Championship squad in 2011,” informed Dilip.Â
 © Even after representing India and playing in the 2014 Asian Games, Dilip was waiting for the league to become a reality during his playing days. Being employed in the Income Tax department, he has to shuffle his state teams at a constant basis which was a big problem for him and that affected his game as well. As the national team is selected on the basis of the performance at the Senior Nationals, he missed the Indian team bus more often than not in his career.Â
“Players get selected only on the basis of their performance in the Senior nationals which is a cause of concern for players like me as I had to change my state teams because of the job requirements. It is not easy to maintain the performance level when the teammates keep changing and my career has an up and down curve. I also missed the previous nationals but after that have got good support from the Gujarat association here. We even made it to the top 10 in the national championship held in Chennai earlier this year,” stated Dilip.
The attacker is of the opinion that a new franchise-based league will be beneficial for the Indian players in more ways than one and thanked the organisers for the first step forward to develop the sport in the country.Â
“We were waiting for the league from 2015, the process had started back in 2014-15 but the league was delayed for some reasons. But, now our secretary general and Tuhin Mishra (MD of Baseline Ventures) have crossed all the hurdles to get it started. This will be a huge thing for the players as the matches that they were playing were not live on television and no one used to know who is doing what. There was no idea of our performance and no one recognised us. It was only the selectors who watched us and
“Youngsters get a chance to know about the foreign players only during the international competitions but now with the foreigners sharing the dressing room, the Indian players will get the practical experience and exposure. They will get a lot to learn from the players of other countries in the league now. Previously, we used to learn only theoretically but now they will have proper practical experience with the foreign stars.”
The 6.5 feet tall attacker is a vital cog in Ahmedabad’s wheel as he will be one of the experienced players in the side which has blocker Ranjit Singh as their captain. Ranjit and Dilip have played together many times as well as against each other.Â
“As seniors in the team, Ranjit, me and Gurinder Singh have to manage the team and bind them together. We have to ensure that the young Indian players and the foreigners play together and have a good understanding for the betterment of the team. I have to take up the supporting role in the side as an attacker and as a receiver. I will pick up the ball and pass to Ranjit as there are others in the team who can attack. An attacker plays supporting roles like service, blocking advantage and receiving the pass for the team. My experience and proper coordination with Ranjit will be helpful for the Ahmedabad side,” said Dilip.Â
Ahmedabad Defenders are off to a poor start in the tournament as they lost their first two matches against Black Hawks Hyderabad and Kochi Blue Spikers. The team is currently at the fifth position of the points table and will take on the top-ranked Calicut Heroes in their next game on Wednesday.Â
“This is the first time that we are playing under our coach Ajay Jangra. As it is the first time we are playing under him, we had some confusion in the starting phase. We didn’t have a good start to the league and there were some mistakes in the first match as well. We didn’t think about our performance and our focus was on winning the game from the beginning,” explained the experienced attacker.Â
When asked about the two brothers going against each other for different teams during the league, Dilip replied, “We have played against each other a lot of times as he is in the Rajasthan side and I have played for different teams Delhi, Gujarat and Rajasthan. We played together only when I was in Rajasthan. In departmental tournaments, I represent Income Tax and he plays for the Indian Railways.”
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