Kolkata Thunderbolts director Sumedh Patodia on PVL's success, KTB's impact on communities and more

The club director spoke of the franchise's successful initiatives and vision for the future.

Prime Volleyball League season one champions Kolkata Thunderbolts had a good run in the second season. They finished on top of the table but crashed out in the semi-finals following a 3-1 defeat to Bengaluru Torpedoes.

Kolkata Thunderbolts have been a very consistent and efficient outfit, losing just two times across two campaigns. They have successfully founded a number of projects, such as the Thunderbolts Men’s Cup, Women’s Thunderbolts Cup, Thunderbolts Derby and Thunderbolts Training Camp.

Club director Sumedh Patodia, who handles the daily operations and marketing, spoke to Khel Now in an exclusive chat.

Thoughts on the season

In an incredible season that took place across three venues: namely Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Kochi, The Prime Volleyball League gained widespread recognition as fans thronged to the venues and followed the sport on Television. Ahmedabad Defenders beat Bengaluru Torpedoes to avenge their finals defeat last time out.

Sumedh said on the season, “All the teams performed very well. Even Kochi, once they got Shubham in, started playing fantastically. The league is well-positioned. We are happy with how it has panned out, the audience response has been amazing.

"Last year on Sony Liv we were a free product but this year we are behind the paywall. There is a 40% increase in the number of people tuning in, the same with the TV response. The stadiums have been packed through and through. There have been some ups and downs: the review system had to undergo changes but now we have found a stable base.”

Auction Strategy

The Kolkata Thunderbolts got their auction strategy bang-on in their run to consecutive top-two finishes. They placed big trust in Blocker Ashwal Rai, and the captain has delivered for the Thunderbolts whenever called upon. Janshad and Vinit also had good second seasons, and Rahul’s stock continued to rise. Sumedh talked about their unique transfer strategy, “I’ll have to give the chairman a lot of credit. Last year, after winning the championship, we became socially aware of the development of volleyball in general.

"Our responsibility as champions was not just to retain the core but expand the scope. If you take the reality of the situation, the majority of the players come from South India, and it’s a vicious circle. There are more players from here and the ratio was misbalanced.

"Our aim was to get a very diverse team, a mini-India. You have to create an aspirational value for juniors who want to play. If you see someone like Suryansh, a university student, playing in the PVL on international television for the defending champions, the other students are more motivated to play.” 13 states are represented in the Kolkata Thunderbolts and it is very specifically concocted this way.

"There are certain idiosyncrasies and uniqueness from every volleyball pocket in India, so this was also achieved. We had the longest training camp among all teams. You could not evade each other and that helped in team building."

Scope for growth

Sumedh spoke in detail about where the PVL stands in comparison to other Indian sports leagues, “We are comfortably placed compared to the PKL. They have 125 matches per season while we have 31. The average viewership is the core fans. IPL is the gold standard and we won’t reach even 50% of it. The PVL is a very carefully thought-out product. It’s difficult to build branding and loyalty to individual sports and you see this in PVL.

"We do well in international cricket and have won two World Cups. But only the commonwealth countries play cricket. Volleyball is a truly global sport. The most popularly played team sport in the world.

"Last season, we got a proof of concept. This season we have legitimacy in the partnership with FIBV. We are already getting calls for our players from European clubs and that is a great thing. With the World Cup Championships coming to India, it is five of the best clubs in the world playing on our courts. This opens up the channel between India and the world. PVL has escalated the sport to the next level.

"The growth story is one for history to tell. We want to enter into the club model and have matches with international clubs throughout the year."

Vision for the PVL

Sumedh confirmed that Kolkata will be one of the venues to host the PVL next season and spoke of the commercial viability of the league,

"We are definitely going to have one of the venues as Kolkata next season. It’s a great opportunity for the tourism industry to excel as well and we will make the most of the government’s support. It is something that will take some seasons to get there, but that is a vision we want to have, as in having an existence throughout the year.

"In terms of commercial viability, we will outdo all the other leagues 100%. We might even be positive before the ISL. Sports is the industry of the future. Last year the budget for domestic players was 45 Lakhs but it increased to 60 Lakhs this year. The maximum cap increased from 15 Lakhs to 18 Lakhs.”

Sumedh shed light on the various initiatives and camps held to very successful responses by the Kolkata Thunderbolts franchise.

KTB's camps and initiatives

“KTB Initiative: We hosted a tournament for 48 Durga Pooja Communities that included the biggest neighborhoods in Bengal. 85 matches of volleyball were played. There are 23 districts and a player from each district. It was on an AstroTurf for the first time in India.

"Instantly, over a month, the common people of Bengal knew about Kolkata Thunderbolts. They were wearing our jerseys. Overnight, we penetrated into the hearts of the people at their emotional point and we said that we are celebrating volleyball as a festival. They accepted us with open arms.

"After that, we started school tournaments and college tournaments. A lot of women volleyball players reached out and wanted in. Within 30 days we organized another tournament: The Women’s Thunderbolts Cup.

We also started the Thunderbolts Derby, between any segment that we can identify: schools, colleges, communities, clubs, etc. That was an interesting series.”

Thoughts on an academy

Sumedh feels that an academy is an immediate challenge but their initiatives have resulted in the right channels for talent identification

“The problem with having an academy is that it is centralized. Eventually, everyone needs to start an academy but the only way is by having a residential program for 30-40 kids with the promise of education, health, and food. It is very capital-heavy and not the most essential when you have just started off. We hired some international and national coaches and started running camps. We ran the first one in Purulia and identified two great players who played for the Bengal state team. This was the first time in 70 years that a player from Purulia has played for the state.

"Even though Eastern Railways won the tournament, the other teams played so well that two girls joined Railways through the sports quota. One of these girls does not have a father, and her mother was washing utensils to make ends meet. Now she has a job worth Rs 70,000 per month. And all this came through the Women’s Thunderbolts Cup. Creating a positive impact in society is what makes this all the more wholesome.

"Following the success of the pilot program, we commissioned training from 16 camps in different districts. We have completed six camps in Darjeeling. The Gorkha community is so pleased, they have named a part of their training ground Thunderbolts Training Ground. We live in the hearts of people. Rupay has collaborated with us to make this the Rupay Thunderbolts Training Camp.”