India. 
. The game of Volleyball was brought to India more than 70 years ago when some Physical Education teachers who had been abroad, were trained in different games including Volleyball. Y.M.C.A., College of Physical Education, Madras took this game seriously and started training of Volleyball in The students trained here took the sport to other parts of the country. The formation of V.F.I. has been one of the main factors in the development and popularization of the game of Volleyball in India.
The Volleyball Federation of India was formed in the year 1951. Prior to the formation of the Volleyball Federation of India (VFI), the game was controlled by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and at that time the Interstate Volleyball Championship was held every two years from 1936 to 1950 for men only. The first Championship was held in the year 1936 at Lahore (now in Pakistan). In 1951, Volleyball Federation of India was formed and its first meeting was held in Ludhiana (Punjab).
Since the formation of the V.F.I. the Indian team started to participate in World Championships, Asian Games, Asian Championship, Commonwealth Championship and many other International Tournaments held in India and abroad. India won the Gold medal at the Invitation Asian Meet at Japan in 1955. In the third and fourth Asian Games held at Tokyo in 1958 and Djakarta in 1962, India won the bronze and silver medal respectively. India got a major set back when no player was honored with the Arjuna Award from 1963 to 1971.
The Indian volleyball team, who finished second in the World U-19 Volleyball championship in Thailand, arrives at IGI airport, New Delhi, on Monday.
India also did not take part in any class of competition from 1964 to 1973. In the year 1974 when India participated in the Asian Games at Tehran it got 5th place and it was felt that India had lagged behind. In the year 1980 in the first Commonwealth Games for Men, India got 3rd place in the Championships. Moreover the Indian team won many matches against visiting teams in India and also out of India in International meets.
THE Volleyball Federation of India has quickly fallen in line with the World body's desire to popularise the game by promoting club volleyball. India is among half a dozen Asian countries putting this variety of league in place. The preliminary phase of the National Volleyball League Club Championship was spread across different centres culminating in a Final League. This new platform has given Club volleyball a fresh lease of life. For these clubs there is now this national pride to play for, greater exposure and recognition coming in its wake. Some of the top clubs in the country jumped into the bandwagon. In India, the game is played both indoors and outdoors. The volleyball courts in India are generally 18 meters long and 9m wide. It is split into 2 halves, each 9m in length. The net is 2.43 and 2.24 m above ground level for men and women respectively. There is an attack line 3m from and parallel to the net. This is for the teams to split their formations into a front and back row sub-teams. Each team has 6 players, and the sport in India adheres to all international standards.
The popularity of the game in India shot to better heights when India won the gold medal at the SAF (South Asian Federation) games in 1987 at Calcutta. IN the 1989 version of the game, India lost the finals to arch rivals Pakistan. The Indian team clinched the gold medal again in 1991 at Colombo. After this, the women’s game started gaining popularity. Though they put up a good show in the 1993 SAF games at Dhaka, the women’s team is yet to make an impact as big as the means team.
Many Indian players received the Arjuna award for their contribution to the game. 
. Image: Jimmy George, the best ever Indian volleyball player. Some of them include, Palaniswamy(1961), Nripjit Singh (1962), Balwant Singh(1972) after a 10 year gap, Malini Reddy, ShyamSundar Rao, Ellamma, Jimmy George etc.Jimmy George in particular was a very talented individual.He was the first Indian player to become a professional and was also regarded as one of the best ten players in the world in his time. Sadly though, he met a bad end dying in a crash in Italy.
The Indian junior teams have also impressed. 
. They reached the World Championships in 2002 and in 2003, in the presence of about 7000 home fans in the newly constructed stadium at Vishakapatnam; the team clinched the Asian title.
Though the performance of the team has been fairly consistent over a long time, they have not been able to get the required limelight and sponsorship to propel the sport forward in India. The rural teams have shown tremendous talent, but sadly there is not much scope for them. They lack exposure and hence that talent never comes to the fore. Better technological and scientific methods need to be introduced in the coaching to ensure sustenance of better results.