PVL finals to feature all-star women’s match

CHENNAI: In a bid to promote women’s volleyball in India, the RuPay Pro Volleyball League organisers on Friday announced an All-Star Women Volleyball match to be played on the day of the finals, i.e. 22 February at the Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai from 5 pm onwards which will be broadcasted on Sony Six, Sony Ten 3 and SonyLIV.

The match will serve as a platform to showcase Indian women volleyball talent on national television and will be played between Team Blue and Team Yellow. Alexa Chitra Strange, a presenter for the league, will represent Team Blue. She plays as a Universal and is also a professional beach volleyball player playing on the Association of Volleyball Professionals League (AVP). Slovenia's Marina Cvetanova, an attacker, will be playing for the Team Yellow.

The match will be played in best-of-three sets format with 15 points each. The rules will remain the same as the league with Super Point and Super Serve being valid during the match.

Pro Volleyball League CEO Joy Bhattacharjya said: “It is a milestone moment for us as this will be the first ever Women’s All-Star match in India for any other sport league except cricket. Though, it is an exhibition match, in the longer run we want to have a full-fledged women’s volleyball league in place. It is going to be really entertaining for the television audience.”

Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) secretary general Ramavtar Singh Jakhar added: “The league has given a platform to the men to display their talent and is helping them trace the journey from players to becoming stars. We wish to do the same for the women in the game, as it is very crucial for both to grow the sport overall.”