At 42, Ratheesh CK continues to chase his volleyball dream
On a warm October morning of 2022, the Hyatt Regency in Kolkata staged a grand affair of Indian volleyball. A star-studded lineup of players went under the hammer, one by one, fetching big money ahead of the second edition of the Rupay Prime Volleyball League. Down south in Kerala, a 42-year-old Volleyball veteran, Ratheesh CK, had been pacing in anticipation; after all, he had gone unsold in the first-ever auction of the league and desperately wanted another chance at India’s biggest volleyball franchise league. Finally, Ratheesh’s name was called out.
There were no takers.
In the previous auction, the Kerala-born player was snubbed because he weighed 91kg. There wasn’t much difference in his weight when he enrolled in the auction for the second season; with age not in his side as well, it seemed the end of the road for Ratheesh… until one fine day, when he received a call from the coach of Mumbai Meteors, the newest entrants to the league.
“Mumbai Meteors coach Sunny Joseph asked me if I’m interested in playing,” Ratheesh tells Hindustan Times in an exclusive interaction.
“I was heavy at that time, so the coach asked if I can shed about 15kg. I was able to reduce up to 12kg after that. So, I was given the opportunity. The difference is showing in my performances now. I’m able to move around much easily, I’m much quicker and better.”
Joseph knows Ratheesh since 2014, when the duo worked together for Calicut’s team in a private volleyball league. They remained a part of the team for five years and clearly, Joseph was impressed with what he saw. “I was very upset when I was not picked from the auction for the first season, so I was really looking forward to playing here,” Ratheesh says.
Born in Kozhikode in the Calicut district, Ratheesh began playing volleyball in 2004. His elder brother, who also played volleyball growing up, was a source of inspiration for Ratheesh but the former couldn’t sustain a career; he is a mute. Ratheesh, then, began a mission to fulfil his brother’s dream. And, perhaps, that continues to push the Kerala volleyball star even at 42, as he is currently the oldest player in the ongoing edition of the PVL.
“I’m definitely one of the oldest (going around). But if you have movement and judgment, it’s easier,” Ratheesh says with conviction. “I play libero (a position in volleyball court), and honestly, age has got nothing to do with any position. Yes, if you look at other liberos, they are aged 25-26, not more than that. So, that does come as an encouragement for them. If I can play like this at the age of 42, they have many more years to go!”
The comeback trail for Ratheesh, however, was far from easy.
After his chat with Joseph, Ratheesh used all of his leaves at once; he has a government job in Kerala and since he hadn’t played a Senior Nationals for a long time, Ratheesh had nearly one month’s worth of leaves pending.
“When coach asked me to reduce weight before joining the team, I hired a private trainer. It cost around INR 38,000. I got a room where the trainer and I stayed together, so that cost another INR 16,000. I put in money from my own pocket for this, as well as for food and training equipment,” says Ratheesh. But that’s where the problems began.
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Ratheesh wanted quick results and grew impatient when there had been no noticeable change in his weight in four days.
“In the first 3-4 days, I noticed I wasn’t losing weight. That made me really frustrated, and I had a tussle with my trainer,” Ratheesh tells us. “I was tired and frustrated. I would just take a nap in the afternoon and my trainer was like, “you’re not supposed to do that’. We had a fight and he walked out.”
His trainer eventually returned two days later in another bid to convince Ratheesh. Fortunately, for the senior volleyball star, his wife and two-year-old daughter stepped in to help Ratheesh overcome his mental and physical fatigue, and restart his training in a bid to make it in time for the second season.
“In the last 4-5 years, I was never able to lose my weight even after trying so much. But when such an opportunity arose where the coach himself came to me and asked me to do that, I had to take it. And I saw the last season, how it was such a success and how everybody had that opportunity. So, I was feeling very bad that I didn’t get that chance. I just wanted to ensure I take that up and did it all to make sure I lose my weight and be a part of the league,” Ratheesh says.
“Two days later, my trainer came back and he tried to motivate me. I had to lose weight. So, we restarted the programme.”
His training would usually include running and exercising on the beach sand in the morning, and a certain set of procedures in the evening. “In the morning, we used to mainly train on the sand and the beach. Then, I would have a sauna bath in the afternoon. You’re only supposed to do that for 30 minutes, and I would try and do it slightly more to have better results. Then, I would train again in the evening. So, it was a full day procedure,” he tells us.
After shedding his weight, Ratheesh eventually joined the Mumbai Meteors camp at the GP Raja School.
Adapting to the league
With a plethora of international stars in the league, Ratheesh, with his lack of match practice and of course, a much older age, took his time to adapt to the higher standards. But one of the biggest changes was the points system; while a usual volleyball game lasts 25 points, PVL has a 15-point-per-game system.
“In all the years that I’ve played, it has been the 25-point game. So, in that sense, it was easier to keep up to it. There is a set pattern. When it comes to PVL, there are various things like super point, super server, you can have two points straightaway and it’s a 15-point game, which is obviously lesser but quicker,” says the Mumbai Meteors player.
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“So, one has to be really alert and should be able to adapt to quicker movements. If there are only six players in the court and each gives away a point, almost half of your points are already gone. So, you have to be really careful and crisp in your gameplay.”
But Ratheesh is loving the exposure in PVL and insists the Indian volleyball standards would’ve been way higher if the league had arrived earlier.
“If a league like this had come 10 years earlier, the quality of volleyball that you see would’ve been even higher. The Indian volleyball team would’ve been playing at a very different level too. In the next three-four years, I think we will be playing with the world’s best,” says the libero.
India at 42? Why not!
A few months ago, he was overweight to play in the league but now, a determined Ratheesh says he believes an Indian call-up is not a far-fetched expectation.
“I’ve not had the opportunity. But I was part of the team in this tournament called the AVC Cup. That was the most prestigious moment for me because all I’ve ever dreamt of is that Indian jersey. I’m hopeful I can still make it,” says Ratheesh.
The Kerala player has appeared for Mumbai Meteors in the libero role in all of their matches so far. While the side is currently struggling in its first season, having won one match out of four so far, Ratheesh continues to make every opportunity count.
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