With her thumbs wrapped in pink tape and one pinkie buddy taped, 45-year-old Jasmine Ajanee is one of around 300 people who are taking part in amateur volleyball tournaments that have become an annual fixture during Ramazan in Karachi.

Jasmine tells Eos that she started playing volleyball with friends at a private members’ club around one and a half years ago. Now, she is a regular, playing at least twice a week with friends, and the frequency can go as high as daily during Ramazan, as teams prepare for the various tournaments.

In such tournaments — at least six this Ramazan, including one exclusively for females — each team has a squad of eight players, including at least two females, with at least one female and one male player required to be among the six players on the court at any given time. International rules are followed to the tee — barring some exceptions, such as relaxed rules of rolling substitutions — with professional players often officiating matches. Group matches are limited to 15 points and one set, with the semis and final being best of three sets.

“When playing with friends, you know their style. But at such tournaments, you play across age groups and against people with varying skills, so it can be extremely competitive and a lot of fun,” says Jasmine.

What started as a small gathering of friends has turned into a full-fledged tradition — Karachi’s Ramazan volleyball tournaments continue to grow, attracting players across generations

Volleyball is arguably one of the most popular sports across Pakistan but, until recently, this has been limited to informal matches played by men, especially in the rural heartlands. This has all been upended in recent years in Karachi.

There is also a lot of camaraderie among this group of amateur volleyball players, as can be seen in the festive environment in which the matches are played, with tempers kept in check even when there are close or contentious calls.

“It’s a great community and keen to help others like me,” says Jasmine, adding that she has only received encouragement and advice from fellow competitors, who might be much better players. “Our game becomes ten times better because they are so supportive,” she adds.

THE RAMAZAN CONNECTION

Such tournaments have been taking place for over two decades — at clubs and people’s houses — before turning into a Ramazan staple that they are now.

One regular player, Sehr Ahmed, explains that this has to do with people having more free time in the evenings in Ramazan and very little to do post-9pm. It is also because people prefer not to socialise and party during the holy month, chimes in another.

Sehr adds that it is similar to how ‘night cricket’ matches — or more recently, padel — see a demonstrable uptick during Ramazan. The inclusive nature and relaxed atmosphere at such tourneys mean players often bring their spouses, or even have them on the same team, for an evening well-spent.

Khwaja Shamoon, who at 46 is a volleyball veteran compared to the rest of the players, says he first played a tournament organised at the Alliance Francaise in 1998. Since then, Shamoon and his fellow volleyball enthusiasts have been organising such tourneys, including one to honour their friend Roger Bayat, a volleyball enthusiast who passed away in January 2023.

Amina Rashid Khan, who is the person behind Raka — arguably the most popular among such tournaments — tells Eos that she hosted the first tournament at her house over a decade ago, with barely six teams. This year, the tournament that ended on March 22 featured 37 teams — with players ranging from as young as 10 to those in their sixties.

In this, local schools have been generous in providing their volleyball courts, often at little or no charge, with The International School also synonymous with Ramazan tourneys.

There is even an all-girls tournament, informs Cyrus Cowasjee, who is another regular. He tells Eos that he helped organise an all-girls tournament last year at one of the Parsi colonies in the city, in which 75 female players were divided across eight teams.

LEVELLING THE PLAYING FIELD

One reason for the popularity of the tournaments is the effort taken by organisers to ensure teams are pitted against rivals that have similar skill levels.

At the tournament honouring Roger Bayat, the organisers created a pool of players and then selected teams to ensure parity. This, explains an organiser, also helps balance out not just the varying skill and fitness levels of the participating players, but also their experience in terms of age.

At Raka, after the first round of matches, teams are divided into three categories: ‘Killers’, ‘Thrillers’ and ‘Chillers’. In the second round, the tournament then splits into three separate tournaments, with Killers (top two teams) of each group playing against each other, and the teams qualifying as Thrillers (mid-level teams) and Chillers (least competitive) from each group following suit.

Similarly, anyone who has played at a semi-professional or club level is not allowed to compete in Raka. “This is to make sure no team has an undue advantage over others,” explains Amina, its organiser.

This is disappointing for Zainab Moin Shaikh, 22, who was part of the player pool at the tournament held in memory of Roger Bayat. Zainab is the captain of the University of Karachi volleyball team and has represented Sindh in national competitions, which bars her from Raka.

Nonetheless, she is happy to have the opportunity to compete with men, as it helps improve her game. “It can be tough playing with boys and being the only girl on the team, because the rival team might try and target you,” says Zainab. “But there are very few girls’ teams and our tournaments are very rare, so it’s good to test our mettle against skillful players.”

One such skilful player is Zain Siddiqui, who has trained with players who play at provincial or national levels. With his athleticism and powerful, precise smashes, the 24-year-old has led his team to victory in several such tournaments, including the one in memory of Roger Bayat this year, where he was also declared the most valuable player in the male category.

Such a mismatch, along with fluke accidents, can sometimes also result in injuries, as happened with Jasmine. “Last week, I got a spike to the face, and it hurt for two to three days,” she tells Eos. “But you brush it off and you keep playing… for the love of the game,” says Jasmine, who also injured her finger in a fluke injury during another practice match.

“On the way to the hospital, my biggest concern was that I am going to miss all the Ramazan volleyball tournaments,” she continues. “Luckily, it was a dislocation and not a fracture,” she adds.

Three days later, she was back on court, throwing herself at hits coming her way.

The writer is a staff member.
X: @hussainydada

Published in Dawn, EOS, March 23rd, 2025