New Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS): A 23-year-old volleyball player from Jhajjar, Haryana has great expectations from the Prime Volleyball League, which is set to begin on February 5, 2022 in Kochi. Amit Gulia, who will feature for the Hyderabad Black Hawks, expressed that he is looking to learn a lot from the foreign players in his team - Luis Antonio Arias Guzman from Venezuela (Universal) and Henry Bell from Cuba (Attacker).

"The Prime Volleyball League will provide a great platform to the volleyball players, wherein they can showcase their talent. There will be foreign players as well and we have a foreign coach in Ruben Wolochin from Argentina as well. We will get to learn a lot while playing with the foreign players," said Gulia, who was acquired for Rs 10 lakh in the Prime Volleyball League Auction held earlier this month.

Gulia, who works for the Income Tax Department in New Delhi when he is not practicing or playing in volleyball tournaments, spoke about his journey in the sport so far, "I started playing volleyball in Sirsa, Haryana in 2008. I came across volleyball while I was studying in a boarding school there. I was in the 4th or 5th standard. First, I played for my school team and then played age-group national tournaments. Thereafter, I participated in my first Senior Nationals in 2016 (Haryana team). Two years later, I played for the Indian team for the first time and I am currently in the national side."

The Attacker added that he was also part of the Gold Medal-winning Indian team at the South Asian Games in 2019 in Kathmandu, "I have played in the 2018 Asian Games and I led the Indian side to a Silver Medal at the U-23 Asian Championship in 2019 in Myanmar. I was also part of the Gold Medal-winning team at the South Asian Games in 2019 in Kathmandu."

Asked about the hardships he has faced during his pursuit to become a volleyball player, the 23-year-old said, "Volleyball is an indoor sport and whichever competition we play in, it is held in an indoor stadium. The issue is that there are not too many indoor stadiums for us to practice in. We get to practice in indoor stadiums when we are in the Nationals camps, but otherwise we have to train outdoors. The Prime Volleyball League will also give us an opportunity to carry out our practice sessions in indoor stadiums."

Gulia also spoke about how he oscillates between working for the Income Tax Department and playing volleyball professionally.

"I get enough time to practice since I got this job through sports quota. When I am not playing tournaments or practicing, I work for the Income Tax Department. I work for around 1-2 weeks every month. I also play for the department in tournaments held only for Civil Services departments," the Attacker signed off.

The Prime Volleyball League will consist of 24 games and the League will shortly be announcing the schedule for the coming season of action.