Telangana’s Lavanya makes it to Indian team for U-20 Asian Volleyball Championship

Hyderabad: The road to team for Chandhu Lavanya’s is not a rosy one. Struggling against odds, she made it to the Indian team for the upcoming Under-20 Asian Volleyball Championship to be held in Kazakhstan in July.

The 17-years-old attacker proved herself in the 47th SGFI Junior National Championship held in Burdwan, West Bengal where she got selected into the national team. The Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS) student, who is in the Indian camp at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar, is very happy to be a part of the national team. “It is an achievement for me and it is a dream come true. This was my coach’s (Veera Reddy sir) dream to represent the country. I have no words to express as I am representing the country,” Lavanya said.

When asked about her inspiration, the second year intermediate CEC student said, “I used to watch my cousins playing volleyball and got interested in the game. Later, Sikki Reddy (an international badminton player) who hails from my village inspired me to pursue sports as a career and to represent the country at international platforms.”

On her plans for the Asian Championship she said, “I want to focus on my game and give my best in the tournament. I am improving my game every day in the camp by playing with senior players and learning the technical skills in the game. Here (Indian camp) coaches are providing advanced training and getting good exposure to the game.”

“I want to represent India in international tournaments like Commonwealth Games and Olympics to bring laurels to the country and want to make my parents, coaches and the country proud,” she revealed when asked about her future goals.

Lavanya hails from a humble background – her father is physically challenged and her mother works as a daily labourer. Her parents were not able to support her financially, so she struggled to pursue her dream. However, Lavanya overcame all the hurdles and represented Telangana State eight times at national level.

“After joining TSWREIS Junior College, Chintakunta, I have trained under Satish sir who helped me to get into the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Visakhapatnam where I trained for four months under Satyanarayana sir.”

Speaking about Lavanya, Veera Reddy, her first coach and mentor said, “She is a very hardworking girl and never hesitated to train even if it was rigorous. She was gifted with talent; I hope she will bring many laurels to the country and State in future”.

“I wanted to send my students to play for the country in my service but I haven’t. Lavanya fulfilled my dream in my post-retirement period. I am very much happy about this,” he expressed his joy.