Olympic Bronze Medallist Pereyra Headlines International Line-Up For Prime Volleyball League Season 5

Tokyo Olympics bronze-medallist Hernan Federico Pereyra headlines the international line-up for the Prime Volleyball League Season 5, which will be held here from November 30 to December 23.

Twenty nine international players from across Asia, Europe, the Americas and Africa, will add global experience and depth to the competition.

Recognised by the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) as India's first division professional volleyball league, PVL will introduce up to three international players per team for the first time.

"This move aims to build a stronger competitive landscape, raise the standard of the league and provide Indian players with greater opportunities to compete alongside international talent," stated a press release from the organisers.

Pereyra, an Argentine who won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics and also competed at the London 2012 Games, will represent the Telugu Black Hawks alongside Dominican Republic attacker Hector Alexis Cruz Cepin and Brazilian attacker Henrique Ferreira Meireles Guimaraes.

The Calicut Heroes feature Canadian Olympians Steven James and Douglas Marshall, who competed at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, and setter Brett James Walsh, who played at Paris 2024.

Cuban universal Brayan Francisco Valle García completes their international contingent.

Captain of the Egypt national volleyball team, Reda Ibrahim Abdelnaby Afifi Haikal, who competed at Paris Olympics, will represent the Goa Guardians alongside Japanese middle blocker Shunichiro Sato and American attacker Nathaniel John Dickinson.

The Bengaluru Torpedoes have retained American setter Matthew A West, who was part of their Season 4 title-winning campaign, and added American Brandon Michael Rattray and Australian attacker Thomas Alan Heptinstall.

The Ahmedabad Defenders feature Iranian middle blocker Mehdi Jafaryan Vameh Del, and Indonesian attackers Luvi Febrian Nugraha and Fahri Septian Putratama.

The Chennai Blitz have added French middle blocker Tanguy Vianney Dijoud, Colombian middle blocker Leandro Jose Mejia Ararat and attacker Zhantemir Zheenbek Uulu from Kyrgyz Republic.

The Delhi Toofans will feature Colombian universal Willian Alejandro Bermudez Narvaez, Australian middle blocker James Mctavish Weir and Senegalese attacker Amadou Laye Samb.

The Kochi Blue Spikers will be represented by Serbian setter Marko Kostovic and German universal Christoph Marks. The Kolkata Thunderbolts have Finnish universal Samuli Ville Mikael Kaistasalo, Norwegian attacker Lars Kristian Ekeland and Polish middle blocker Krzysztof Rejno in their line-up.

Norwegian middle blocker Petter Alstad Ostvik and Latvian attacker Atvars Ozolins complete the international roster for the Mumbai Meteors.

"Bringing players of this calibre to Season 5 reflects the progress the league has made in building a competitive platform for volleyball in India. With PVL now recognised by the FIVB, introducing three international players per team for the first time is another important step in our journey to strengthen the competition," said Joy Bhattacharjya, CEO, Prime Volleyball League.