{"id":107949,"date":"2025-11-26T20:37:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T15:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/?p=107949"},"modified":"2025-11-26T20:37:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T15:07:21","slug":"silicon-valley-entrepreneur-raju-chekuri-makes-a-bold-play-on-volleyball-and-goas-sporting-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/?p=107949","title":{"rendered":"Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Raju Chekuri makes a bold play on Volleyball and Goa\u2019s sporting future"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<h4>People all around the world know Goa. The state is the perfect base for the sport, Chekuri said.<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<h4>Chekuri owns Goa Guardians along with co-owner and Indian cricket star KL Rahul.<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><strong>Goa Khabar : For Raju Chekuri, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur who built his fortune in cybersecurity and AI, volleyball has always been more than a game. It\u2019s a memory of long rallies under the scorching Ahmedabad sun, of poorly marked courts and a burning ambition that sometimes propels small-town youth to dream big. Nearly four decades after leaving India to chase his technology dreams, Chekuri, a former amateur volleyball player, has returned to invest in a sporting vision through the newly put-together Goa Guardians, the 10th franchise in the Prime Volleyball League (PVL).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Chekuri, the founder, chairman and CEO of the California-based Netenrich, brings his trademark execution-first philosophy to this new play. \u201cPeople talk too much about vision,\u201d he said in an interview. \u201cBut the key is staying in the game; being resilient, making good decisions every day. That\u2019s true for business and for sport.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The Goa Guardians are his latest experiment in staying in the game. Co-owned by Indian cricketer KL Rahul, the team debuted this October with a plan to nurture volleyball talent across the Konkan and coastal belt. \u201cVolleyball is one of the most athletic, non-contact sports. If done well, it\u2019s exhilarating,\u201d said Chekuri. \u201cWe have some amazing talent. If we treat players as crown jewels, we\u2019ll do well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In their maiden season, the Goa Guardians reached the semi-finals of the Prime Volleyball League, marking an impressive debut. \u201cI think we are a pretty mature team, a very strong team,\u201d Chekuri said after the campaign. \u201cWe made a couple of mistakes early in the game, but the players showed up and played through. Some of our early matches went to five sets, and that showed our resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The idea for Goa Guardians took shape while he was spending time in the coastal state, having invested in a local media outfit, the Department of Lore, promoted by filmmakers Anand Gandhi and game designer Zain Memon. \u201cGoa has a spirit like no other; energy, culture, festivity. People around the world know Goa. It\u2019s the perfect base for something new-age like volleyball,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">But Chekuri\u2019s ambitions extend beyond a single franchise. Through Chekuri Sports Ventures, he plans to create a fund focused on sports infrastructure, grassroots training and media innovation. \u201cIt\u2019s more emotional than strategic,\u201d he admitted. \u201cI\u2019ve been away for 40 years. Now it\u2019s time to come back and invest in India.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Chekuri\u2019s own journey traces back to the alleys of old Ahmedabad, where he first picked up a volleyball in school under the watch of coach Varshambhai. He went on to represent Kakatiya University at the South Zone Championships, captaining teams and even earning a call-up for India before academics took over. \u201cThere were no leagues then,\u201d he recalled. \u201cThe only dream was to play for the country. No money, just pure love for the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">His return through the PVL, he says, is an attempt to give today\u2019s athletes the professional stage he never had. \u201cUntil 10 or 11, kids should play whatever they like. But from 12 onwards, that\u2019s when you can shape them. If we can support that age group, we\u2019ll not only produce athletes but stronger human beings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Looking ahead, Chekuri says his goal is to turn Goa into a volleyball powerhouse over time. \u201cWe love volleyball and we\u2019re invested in the grassroots,\u201d he said. \u201cWinning a couple of tournaments will be great, but what really matters is building a culture that makes Goa India\u2019s favourite team. We want to give our fans every reason to cheer for us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>People all around the world know Goa. The state is the perfect base for the sport, Chekuri said. Chekuri owns Goa Guardians along with co-owner and Indian cricket star KL Rahul. Goa Khabar : For Raju Chekuri, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur who built his fortune in cybersecurity and AI, volleyball has always been more than [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25169,"featured_media":107950,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,155],"tags":[3794],"class_list":["post-107949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-6","category-155","tag-featured"],"read":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/25169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=107949"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107951,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107949\/revisions\/107951"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/107950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=107949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=107949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goakhabar.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=107949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}