Kerala will host Federation cup

Kozhikode: Ernakulam will host the Federation Cup volleyball tournament, scheduled to be held February 26 onwards. The inter-state tournament will be held at Kizhakambalam, a suburb of Kochi.

Kerala are the reigning champions in both the men’s and women’s categories as both the state teams had defeated Tamil Nadu to bag the titles in the championships held at Pathanamthitta last year.

Tamil Nadu, Uttar-akhand, Kerala, Services Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh will vie for the top honours in the men’s competition while among women, Railways, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra will compete for the title.

The players for the Indian senior national camp will be selected taking into consideration the performances of the players in both the senior national and Federation Cup tournaments.

“We are delighted that the Volleyball Federation of India has assigned the tournament to Kerala this year as well. Last year, it was a huge success and the VFI was happy with the conduct of the tourney,” said Nalakath Basheer, the secretary of state volleyball association.

Kerala captain K.G Ragesh said: “We will be trying to defend the title with all vigour. We want to compensate for our shoddy performance at the senior national championships.”