Abs Venkipally has captained and coached the Men’s and Mixed Dodgeroos, respectively to become Asian champions, while playing an important role in the formation of the Australian Dodgeroos. Now, as captain of ADPL Club Endeavour Hills Eagles, he’s looking forward to the new national competition. We sit down with Abs, to chat about his international career, and life outside the game. 398
Personal Life |

AFL team you support? I picked Essendon not because I follow footy, but because my favourite colours are Red and Black. Essendon team colours happens to be Red and Black.

Sportsperson you love / loved watching the most?
I am a huge fan of Cricket. In my younger years, I played Cricket and Hockey. Steve Waugh, Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni have always been my idols. Nowadays, Dillon Jesudhason is my Dodgeball idol.

Favourite sports?
Dodgeball, Cricket, Hockey.

First job held?
I worked for a small designing company and I remember at the end of every month, I used to take home all the designs and banner size posters of movies, super heroes, actors back home to stick it on my wall.

Current occupation?
Paintball Referee and soon to work with a small company that deals with NBN as a technician

How would your best friend describe you?
Spontaneous, competitive, emotional.

Favourite food?
Japanese, Chinese, and Indian Cuisines.

Favourite TV shows?
Game Of Thrones, Fresh Prince, Brooklyn 99, The Office, Arrow, Flash, the list just keeps going.

Favourite quote?
I’m not religious but there is something that really stood out to me from the many religious scriptures. It conveys a message along the lines of “Treat others the way you want to be treated”. I like the positivity it brings and I hope to follow this as much as I can from a day to day basis.

Your most annoying habits?
Apparently I chew my food loudly. I don’t believe I do but then again…I don’t pay attention because the food is probably so good.

A household chore you hate?
Gardening. The worms gross me out, haha.

On The Court |
How long have you been playing dodgeball? Abs Venkipally
4.5 yrs and I don’t see it stopping any time soon.

What’s your favourite training drill?
Reflexes drill – trying to catch balls that are being quickly thrown at you by your partner. Followed by punishments.

You captained the Men’s Dodgeroos to its first piece of silverware by winning the 2015 Asian Championships. Describe the feeling of winning on home soil in Melbourne.
The 2015 Asian Championships was an awesome experience. It was definitely a highlight for me and I thank the team and the coach for their commitment and improvement with cloth balls. It was our first time playing with the new type of dodgeballs and it was a great feeling to have won on our home ground.

Unfortunately, you suffered a fractured finger leading up to the 2016 World Cup. While you played, your court-time was limited. How frustrating was it? The World cup back in April. Honestly, it was quite difficult to deal with. I had such high hopes for myself to perform well and the injury just spaced me out for a while. My commitment to the team and dodgeball started lacking due to this, but by the time the event came around, I was ready to be a supportive team member in Manchester. I hope I can always up my game on and off court in the future.

Does this fuel you with extra motivation to represent your country again?
Definitely. I like to still be good enough to be selected back on the squad and I hope to be injury free next time around.

Who was your toughest opponent in Manchester?
England. Definitely a strong team. They showed lots of brutal skill and passion into what they do. They set a standard for me to try and improve myself too.

Favourite teammate in the Men’s Dodgeroos?
The whole squad got along very well especially towards the end of our tournament but a special mention to Dillon, Andy, and Mitch for being supportive on the trip.

Most annoying teammate in the Men’s Dodgeroos?
I don’t want to get in trouble. I thought I was the most annoying, given after my injury I just spaced out and took me a little time to get over it. But on a lighter side of things, Dillon is also a very annoying person in general. His voice alone is enough to cause chaos.

Best moment in your international dodgeball career?
Sharing the moment of every game that the team won or lost was actually such a awesome feeling for me. It was those times that I probably learnt the most about team building, bonding and attitude on and off court. Skill is one thing, but there is another whole new level about how a player should be too.

Do you have any pre-game rituals before a big game? 
I personally didn’t but the team had two awesome coaches and I thank them for inspiring the players with exactly the things the team needed to hear. They were amazing and I could not have asked for better coaches.

You were also coach of the Mixed Dodgeroos from the 2015 Asian Championships to this year’s World Cup. Describe the transition from being a player to coaching. 332

It was definitely an interesting experience. I learnt a lot from playing and trying to teach the way I felt was effective. Not everyone may agree on exactly how someone can train for Dodgeball, but being a player made it a little bit easier.

Constantly getting feedback from players in and out of the Dogeroos, and the Mixed squad was definitely something that helped everyone move forward. Manchester was a great experience and a little more satisfying in terms of coaching, as I felt the team gelled well with training sessions, and overall friendship.

What are your future goals and ambitions in dodgeball?
I’d like to keep working on improving my skill and attitude and hope to be selected for international events in the future.

The 2017 Asian Championships has recently been announced to take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Men’s Dodgeroos enter as reigning champions, can we defend our crown?
I strongly think we can. Given the same squad, the chemistry and skill was definitely amazing. But there is always new talent so Whenever the trials to pick the squad is, I’d be great to work hard with the team and better ourselves to defend that title. Looking forward to the new journey ahead.

The ADPL is a new high performance domestic league. What are you most looking forward to about the ADPL?
I am looking forward to seeing new faces trying out new rules, new balls and the challenges every single player will face. Best way to learn is to face tough situations so I am definitely keen for this.

Who’s a player/s we should look out for in your team?
I feel our team is balanced. There are new faces trying out cloth balls, so I cannot say who people should watch out for but only time will tell, haha.

What are your expectations for the Endeavour Hills Eagles? Pre-season predictions?
I don’t know how many teams there are yet, and I’m not sure how skilled the other teams are either. But on a positive note to my team, I’d hope my team works well together and gives everything it has while gradually learning together. I predict our team has a good chance to be in the top 3 category.