Volleyball

A. Palanisamy (died 12 November 2007) was a volleyball player from Tamil Nadu, India. He represented the country in the Asian Games in early 60's. He hailed from Kallampatti near Melur, Madurai district, Tamil Nadu.

Arikapudi Ramana Rao (born 1 July 1945) is a former Indian volleyball player. He was born in Chamallamudi village, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh. He is a recipient of both the Arjuna Award for the year 1977–1978 and Dronacharya Award for the year 1990–1991.

Abdul Basith Siddiqui was a captain of the India men's national volleyball team. He was a member of the team that won the bronze medal in the 1986 Seoul Asian games, beating Japan. He also represented India in Asian games of 1978 and 1982.

Abitha Anilkumar (born 21 December 1997) is an Indian volleyball player from Kerala. She plays for India women's national volleyball team as a middle blocker, and for Kerala in the domestic tournaments. In June 2025, she was part of the Indian women's volleyball team that played the 2025 AVC Women's Nations Cup in Vietnam.

Amitha Keekoth (born 8 November 2000) is an Indian volleyball player from Kerala. She plays for India women's national volleyball team as a setter, and for Kerala in the domestic tournaments. In June 2025, she was part of the Indian women's volleyball team that played the 2025 AVC Women's Nations Cup in Vietnam.

Ananya Das (born 14 October 2000) is an Indian volleyball player from West Bengal. She plays for India women's national volleyball team as a libero, and for Odisha and Indian Railways in the domestic tournaments. Das is from Kolkata, West Bengal.

Anna Mathew (born 18 March 2000) is an Indian volleyball player from Kerala. She plays for India women's national volleyball team as a middle blocker, and for Kerala in the domestic tournaments. She did her graduation at Assumption College, Changanacherry.

Anup D'Costa (born 7 January 1993 in Kundapura, Karnataka) is an Indian volleyball player, represented India in 2010 Asian Youth Boys Volleyball Championship held in Azadi Volleyball Hall, Tehran, Iran from 13 to 21 May 2010. He is Ekalavya award winner.

Anusree Kambrath Poyili (born 8 October 1997) is an Indian volleyball player from Kerala. She plays for India women's national volleyball team as an outside hitter, and for Kerala and the Indian Railways teams in the domestic tournaments. In June 2025, she captained the Indian women's volleyball team that played the 2025 AVC Women's Nations Cup in Vietnam, formerly known as AVC Women's Challenge Cup.

Arunima Sinha is an Indian mountaineer and sportswoman. She is India's first amputee and world's first female amputee to scale Mount Everest (Asia), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mount Elbrus (Europe), Mount Kosciuszko (Australia), Aconcagua (South America), Denali (North America) and Vinson Massif (Antarctica). She is also a seven time Indian volleyball player.

Aswani Kiran (born 15 May 1985) is a former Indian female volleyball player who has also captained the India women's national volleyball team internationally. She was selected to represent India at the 2010 Asian Games, captained the national team at the 2010 Asian Games and was part of the squad which finished 9th in the women's team event.

Ayushi Bhandari (born 27 February 1998) is an Indian volleyball player from Himachal Pradesh. She plays for India women's national volleyball team as a middle blocker, and for Himachal Pradesh in the domestic tournaments. She is developing as a universal player.

Balwant Singh (1945 – 14 November 2010), popularly known as Ballu, was an Indian volleyball player, considered a star of the India men's national volleyball team. His son Narender is a professional volleyball player who plays for the Indian volleyball Team. Kaul village panchayat also organised Balwant Singh Memorial tournament after his death in the village.

Cyril Chakkunny Valloor is a former India men's national volleyball team player from Kerala. He represented the country in several competitions, including the 1986 Seoul Asian Games where he captained the Indian team that won the bronze medal. This was arguably one of the best volleyball team sent by India to an Asian games.

Dalel Singh Ror is an Indian volleyball player who received one of the country's highest sporting honours, the Arjuna Award, in 1990. Dalel Singh was born on 10 June 1956 in Amin village near Kurukshetra, in Haryana.

Devika Devarajan Kallumambraparambil (born 16 June 1992) is an Indian volleyball player from Kerala. She plays for India women's national volleyball team as a setter, and for Kerala in the domestic tournaments.

G E Sridharan is a former India men's national volleyball team player from Tamil Nadu, India who played during the late 1970s to late 1980s. He was the second player from Tamil Nadu to receive Arjuna Award in 1982. He is also the former coach of the Indian men's national team and the Tamil Nadu State Volleyball team.

G R Vaishnav (born 11 February 1990) is a member of the India men's national volleyball team. He wears the Number 1 or 11 Jersey for the Team. He also plays for Indian overseas bank volleyball team.

Gurinder Singh (born 2 March 1989), known as Gurinder is the former captain of India men's national volleyball team. He played for Ahmedabad Defenders in Pro Volleyball League.

Jimmy George (8 March 1955 – 30 November 1987) was an Indian volleyball player and captain of the Indian national volleyball team. Often dubbed the God of Indian volleyball, he is considered as one of the greatest volleyball players of all time. He learned volleyball from his father.

K. J. Kapil Dev is an Indian volleyball player from Varkala, Trivandrum. He represented India in many international competitions. Kapil also led the Indian National Volleyball Team on a number of occasions, including the Rashid Memorial International Volleyball Tournament held at Dubai in July 2006 and 15th Asian Games at Doha.

Karunakarakurup Udayakumar was an India men's national volleyball team player known for his allround skills at offence and defence and a member of the Indian volleyball team during what many consider as the golden era of Indian volleyball. A former captain of the Indian national volleyball team, Udayakumar was a member of the team, which included Jimmy George and Cyril C. Valloor, that won the Bronze medal in the 1986 Asian Games held in Seoul.

Lavmeet Katariya, known simply as Lavmeet, is a member of India men's national volleyball team and wears the Number 10 jersey. Lavmeet plays as a middle blocker/middle hitter. He has led the Rajasthan men's team in the Indian national volleyball meet, and the Indian men's team in the Asian Men's U20 Volleyball Championship.

Minimol Abraham, also known as Minomol Abraham (born 27 March 1988), is a former Indian female volleyball player of the India women's national volleyball team. Minimol also plays for the domestic volleyball club Indian Railways in domestic league matches. She is considered one of the finest women volleyball players to have emerged from the state of Kerala along with Aswani Kiran, Poornima and Princy Joseph.

Manidurai Naveen Raja Jacob (born 10 January 1989), known as Naveen is an integral part of current India men's national volleyball team. He currently plays for Chennai Blitz in Prime Volleyball League.

Navjit Singh (born 1 July 1991), known as Navjit is an Indian volleyball player.

Nirmal Saini also known as Nirmal Milkha Singh(8 October 1938 – 13 June 2021) was an Indian volleyball player and captain of the India women's national volleyball team. She was the wife of athlete Milkha Singh and the mother of Jeev Milkha Singh.

Nripjit Singh Bedi (commonly known as "Nippy", born 1 June 1940) was a volleyball player who was a member of the Indian national team and competed in the silver medal-winning effort at the 4th Asian Games. Bedi received the Arjuna Award from the Government of India in 1962. The Indian athlete's volleyball career lasted for 23 years.

Pusarla Venkata Ramana is a former professional volleyball player from India and an employee of Indian Railways in Secunderabad. He was a member of the India men's national volleyball team and won a bronze medal at the 1986 Asian Games. He was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2000 for his contribution to Indian volleyball.

Prabhagaran S, commonly known as Prabha, is a member of India's men's national volleyball team. He wears jersey #13. He currently plays for Kochi Blue Spikers in Pro Volleyball League.

Priyanka Bora (born (1985-01-07)7 January 1985 in Maharashtra, India) is an Indian female volleyball player. She was part of the India women's national volleyball team. She participated at the 2010 Asian Games.

Priyanka Khedkar (born 1 November 1984) is a retired Indian female volleyball player. She was part of the India women's national volleyball team. She participated at the 2010 Asian Games, and 2014 Asian Games.

Ram Krishan Purohit "R K" Purohit is a former Indian Volleyball player. He hails from Jodhpur. He was awarded the Arjuna award in 1984 by the Government of India for his achievements.

Ramavtar Singh Jakhar (born 15 May 1970) is a retired international volleyball player from Jhunjhunu district in Rajasthan. He is a gold medalist in South Asian Games. He won gold medal in 1991 South Asian Games and won silver medal in 1993 South Asian Games.

Riaz Ahmed (7 April 1939 – 18 September 2023) was an Indian volleyball player. He represented the India national team as a senior player at the 1966 Asian Games.

Shaalini Saravanan (born 19 July 2000) is an Indian volleyball player from Tamil Nadu. She plays for India women's national volleyball team as an outside hitter, and for Tamil Nadu in the domestic tournaments. She is from Salem District, Kolathukombai village, Tamil Nadu.

Shyam Sunder Rao is a former Indian volleyball player and coach. He is a recipient of Arjuna award in 1974, and, in 1995, the Dronacharya award.

Sivapriya Govind (born 29 October 1998) is an Indian volleyball player from Kerala. She plays for India women's national volleyball team as a libero, and for Kerala in the domestic tournament. She is from Kannur, Kerala.

Soorya Thottangal (born 23 August 1989) is an Indian former volleyball player. She was part of the India women's national volleyball team. She participated at the 2010 Asian Games.

Suresh Kumar Mishra is a former Indian volleyball team captain in Asian Games held at Bangkok in 1978. He belongs from Laxmangarh, Sikar, Rajasthan. He was born in Laxmangarh on 25 September 1953.

T. Gopal (Gopal Tilakam) (born 20 August 1941 - 18 December 2012) was a former volleyball player from India. He captained the India national team at the 1966 Asian Games.

Tom Joseph (1 January 1980 in Kozhikode) is an Indian former volleyball captain who played for India in many international competitions. He was the coach of Indian national team during the Asian Games 2023 and the head coach of a Prime Volleyball League team. He got the Arjuna Award in 2014 for his great performance in volleyball throughout the year.

Yejju Subba Rao (born 3 August 1981) is an Indian international volleyball player. Subba Rao was awarded best player on numerous occasions by the national federation and local government.

Residential academies providing free boarding, lodging, and professional coaching to selected youngsters.

On 8 September 2026 the Maharashtra Cabinet approved a revised policy for the 5 per cent parallel reservation for meritorious sportspersons in direct recruitment in state government and semi-government bodies. Sports included in at least three consecutive Summer Olympic Games after 2005 qualify, and Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Chess, Mallakhamb and Cricket have been added as regional sports. Under the revised policy, sports certificates must be verified through a digital Sports E-Certificate system within three months, and earlier government resolutions on the quota were rescinded.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), a Government of India enterprise, gives monthly scholarships to economically weaker young sportspersons who have the potential to excel in sport, in games including badminton, boxing, wrestling, kabaddi, chess, athletics and para sports. This is a public-sector company scheme, not a government department scheme. A scholarship is awarded for one year and can be extended up to two years based on annual performance. The number of scholarships is fixed game by game; for the 2025-26 round, for example, badminton had 6 (3 for men and 3 for women) and kabaddi had 20.

NHPC Limited, a Government of India enterprise, offers a sports scholarship to promising young players aged 14 to 19 years (14 to 24 years for para sports) in 16 games, to encourage their talent and build a talent pool during their formative years of education. This is a public-sector company scheme, not a government department scheme. Up to 32 scholarships are provided, two in each game, in two categories, Elite Scholar and Scholar, for a period of three years.

A flagship annual multi-disciplinary grassroots event held to identify and nurture young sporting talent at the school and college level across India.

Under instructions of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), central government ministries and departments can directly recruit meritorious sportspersons to Group C posts (including erstwhile Group D) that are filled by direct recruitment, in relaxation of the normal recruitment procedure. The list of qualifying sports has 65 disciplines (63 listed in 2020, with Tennis Ball Cricket added in January 2021 and Yogasana in June 2022). Kudo, Karate, Taekwondo, Golf, Judo, Boxing, Wrestling, Badminton, Cricket and Tennis are among them. Railways and a few scientific and atomic-energy services follow separate rules.

Allows the general public and budding athletes to use SAI's world-class stadium facilities in Delhi and other regional centers for a nominal fee.

State scheme under which the Haryana Sports Department provides sports equipment to Gram Panchayats and municipal bodies, to encourage young people to take up sports such as volleyball, football, basketball, handball, boxing, wrestling, judo and cricket. The department's website lists editions for 2023-24 and 2025-26.