Nilesh Mate who is the first from Vidarbha and Marathwada region who has been coaching the Indian senior volleyall team for the forthcoming AVC Women's Volleyball Championship to be held at Vietnam from June 7 said although he has short time in his hand, his main target is to improve the performance of the team.
At present under the guidance of Mate the training camp is going at Gandhinagar and the team will leave for the destination on June 7.
As far as the international assignment is concerned it is a great opportunity for Mate, a FIVB Level 2 Coach and a National Coach, to showcase his latent qualities. While assigning him the top job, the Indian Volleyball Federation hope that Mate will succeed in bringing a medal from the top-notch team.
Talking to Lokmat Times from Gandhinagar Mate who has been the coach of Vidarbha and Maharashtra teams for last ten years said, “ Overall the team which has the combination of seniors and juniors is good. It requires at least three month peeparationj for any international tournament but we have little time for it. Still our girls are eager to deliver their best in this championship", he said.
Mate who has played 10 to 15 nationals including nine senior said, “ The preparation is going well. Still we have around 15 days in our hand for training. I will try to fulfill the expectations of the federation because it will be the huge responsibility on my shoulder”. Mate said the performance of Indian women is not up to the mark at the international-level. “ Frankly speaking we are not performing well at the international-level. Therefore, my priority will be to improve th performance. Secondly, although the groups are not confirmed yet, the team will face the challenge from top Asian teams. I will have to use all my experience against them and I an ready for it”, he said.
Under the guidance of Mate Maharashtra's women team qualified for the quarterfinals in the senior nationals.
Mate who is also the joint secretary of District Volleyball Association Nagpur, has been congratulated by a host of dignitaries including Maharashtra Volleyball Association President Vijay Dangre, Secretary Sanjay Naik, Joint Secretary and Executive Member Nilesh Jagtap and Arvind Gavai.