Bhubaneswar: KIIT and KISS founder Dr Achyuta Samanta has been unanimously elected as Chief Patron of the Volleyball Federation of India (VFI).
The decision was taken during VFI’s annual General Council meeting in Varanasi on the sidelines of the 72nd Senior National Volleyball Championship. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the championship on Sunday.
Dr Samanta, who is the president of Odisha Volleyball Assoc
iation, could not attend the meeting due to prior commitments. He gave his consent to be Chief Patron over phone when the VFI president and general secretary contacted him.
VFI cited Samanta’s long-standing and significant contributions to sports, particularly volleyball, as the reason for his appointment for a period of four years.
The General Council also approved KIIT as host of the National Youth Volleyball Championship.
VFI congratulated Dr Samanta for being conferred the prestigious Grand Cross Award by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), and also being appointed as a member of the FIVB Volleyball Foundation Council.
Samanta, who served as VFI president from 2020 to 2024, conveyed his gratitude to the federation’s president Virendra Kanwar, general secretary Ramanand Chaudhury and all members.