02-May-2009 185
Orissa’s new volleyball international Rabindra Kumar Murudi returned home today after putting up creditable performance in Italy and Poland last month.
A trainee of state government-run sports hostel at Balasore, Murudi helped India under-19 team win the Ferruccio Cornacchia Memorial Tournament in Italy (April 10 to 13).
He was also a member of the 12-member Indian youth team that bagged a bronze medal in the three-nation tournament at Stachin, Poland (April 15 to 19) with Brazil as the third team. In the Poland tournament, Muradi was adjudged as the best libero.
After returning from the foreign tour on April 20, Murudi and his teammates resumed training at the National camp at Visakhapatnam, under head coach G E Sridharan.
The camp, featuring 24 probables, is being conducted in order to select the National team for the World Youth Championship to be held in Italy in August and September. The final 16-member team is expected to be finalised in July.
Hailing from coastal village Karamanga (near Konark), Murudi has been honing his skill under the wings of sports hostel coach Purna Chandra Jena since 2005.
Before making his international debut, the 16-year-old libero represented the state twice each in sub-junior and junior National championship (2006-2007). Last year, he made his senior National debut at Visakhapatnam.
Officials of Orissa Volleyball Association, including secretary Kamala Kanta Pandey, joint-secretary Somanath Mohapatra and National Referee Board convener Rabi Narayan Routray garlanded Murudi at the railway station in Bhubaneswar this morning.
The fourth international volleyball player of the state (other three include M M Zama, Lotak Bindu Das and Jhililata Sena), Murudi will spend a few days with his hostelmates and family members before returning to Visakahapatnam for the National camp.
