As 2023 draws to a close and Asian volleyball family is celebrating the New Year’s Eve, AVC would like to take this opportunity to take a look back at remarkable events which have shaped Asian volleyball developments for a fruitful end of the year.
AVC VOLLEYBALL EVENTS
A total of eight championships had been organized by the Asian volleyball-governing body in 2023, with tens of AVC affiliated National Federations actively fielding their teams to, apart from chasing their dreams of winning the titles, learn the emerging trends and innovations that are set to redefine the beloved sport that has activated millions worldwide with its dynamic rallies and intense team dynamics.
2023 Asian Women’s Club Championship
The 2023 Asian Women’s Club Championship was the first AVC-sanctioned event which was held in Vinh Phuc, Vietnam from April 25 to May 2. Unbeaten Sport Center 1 made the host nation greatly proud after pulling off epic 3-2 comeback win against favorites Diamond Food – Fine Chef Sport Club from Thailand in the final showdown for their historic victory in this annual competition. The third place went to China’s Liaoning Donghua Volleyball Club.
In the exciting showdown, Sport Center 1, strengthened by powerful hitter Tran Thi Thanh Thuy, went down to the Thai outfits in the first two sets 21-25, 17-25, but bounced back mightily to win three sets in a row 25-20, 25-22, 15-10 not only to capture their unprecedented title but also make their debut effort in representing Asia in the 2023 FIVB Women’s Club World Championship later in December.
2023 Asian Men’s Club Championship
Bahrain hosted the 2023 Asian Men’s Club Championship in capital city Manama between May 14 and 21, with 16 strong teams fighting it out for the title. After eight days of action-packed competitions, Suntory Sunbirds made history to become the first Japanese club team ever to be crowned Asian Club champions after powering past Jakarta Bhayangkara Presisi from Indonesia in hard-fought four-setter 28-26, 25-23, 23-25, 25-17 in the final clash to reign supreme and emerge as the first club from Japan to strut their stuff in the 2023 FIVB Men’s Club World Championship.
On the other hand, it was for the first time ever that powerhouses Iran, whose club teams have made the podium in every edition of the championship, did not finish top three, as Shahdab Yazd succumbed to 1-3 loss to Qatar’s Police SC in the third place playoff to finish a below-par fourth position on home soil.
2023 AVC Challenge Cup for Women
Indonesia organized the third AVC event of the year when the 2023 AVC Challenge Cup for Women took place in Gresik, East Java during June 18 and 25. Vietnam, whose all players joined the Sport Center 1 Club which earlier landed the Asian Women’s Club title on home soil, proved invincible as they put it past spirted hosts Indonesia in grueling five-set thriller 25-18, 25-27, 21-25, 25-20, 15-13 in the showdown to capture the eventual title and a slot to represent Asia in the FIVB Women’s Challenger Cup, the qualification tournament for the Volleyball Nations League. Chinese Taipei demolished India 3-0 to claim bronze medal in the AVC Challenge Cup for Women.
1st Asian Women’s U16 Championship
China hosted the 1st Asian Women’s U16 Championship from July 1 to 8 in Hangzhou, with 11 teams participating. The inaugural competition, which served as the test event for the 19th Asian Games Volleyball Tournaments later in September, was held at Linping Sports Center Gymnasium, China Textile City Sports Center Gymnasium, Deqing Sports Center Gymnasium and Hangzhou Normal University Cangqian Gymnasium, four of them the main competition sites for the 19th edition of the Asian Games Volleyball Tournaments.
In-form Japan stunned China to top the podium in the inaugural women’s U16 competition after 3-1 (25-19, 25-22, 17-25, 25-19) win against the host nation. Chinese Taipei brushed off Thailand 3-0 in the third place playoff for bronze medal.
2023 AVC Challenge Cup for Men
The fifth AVC event was held in Chinese Taipei when a total of 15 teams contested the 2023 AVC Challenge Cup for Men in Taipei between July 8 and 15. Thailand outplayed Bahrain in highly-anticipated final showdown to capture not only their unprecedented title in the annual competition, but also the final berth in the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Men’s Challenger Cup in Qatar later in the same month. Korea defeated Vietnam 3-1 to pick up bronze medal.
1st Asian Men’s U16 Championship
Uzbekistan hosted the 1st Asian Men’s U16 Championship in Tashkent from July 22 to 29, with 12 teams vying for the historic title. Iran underlined their supremacy over the inaugural competition with remarkable unbeaten record, shattering hopes of the host nation after outplaying Uzbekistan in straight sets 25-19, 25-22, 25-16 in the final match to clinch the historic title. Chinese Taipei downed Pakistan 3-1 in the third place playoff to take home bronze medal.
22nd Asian Senior Men’s Championship
The 22nd Asian Senior Men’s Championship between August 19 and 26 in Urmia, Iran saw a strong field of 18 teams confirm their participation before Mongolia withdrew ahead of the kickoff of the championship. Star spikers Yuki Ishikawa, Ran Takahashi and Taishi Onodera steered Japan to 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-18) upset win against hosts and consecutive two-time champions Iran in the final encounter. Qatar claimed bronze following their 3-0 victory against China in the third place playoff.
22nd Asian Senior Women’s Championship
The eighth and last AVC event in 2023 was the 22nd Asian Senior Women’s Championship from September 1 to 6 in Nakhon Ratchasima. Hosts Thailand fought well against China, fielding a strong team which won the Chengdu 2021 World University Games, to narrowly edge past the formidable rivals in hard-fought five-set thriller 25-21, 25-27, 25-19, 20-25, 16-14 in the showdown for their third Asian title in history. Defending and successive two-time champions Japan overcame a strong challenge from Vietnam to beat the tough rivals in epic tie-breaker for bronze medal.
19th Asian Games Volleyball Competitions
To avoid a clash of dates with the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, the 19th Asian Games men’s tournament was allocated to the first week of the Games and started 4 days before the Opening Ceremonies on September 23. The men’s competition was held in Hangzhou, China from September 19 to 26, with a large number of 19 teams vying for top honor in the quadrennial sports extravaganza.
Iran triumphed in the men’s volleyball tournament, defending their title from the previous two editions of the quadrennial multi-sport event in 2014 and 2018 following their 3-1 (19-25, 25-14, 25-22, 26-24) win against hosts China in the showdown, while Japan beat Qatar 3-1 to complete the podium with bronze.
As the men’s competition ended on a high note with Iran completing their unprecedented Asian Games hat trick, focus had switched back to the women’s event when a strong field of 13 teams took part in the women’s competition between September and October 7.
Hosts China retained the Asian Games title and turned the electric atmosphere of the Hangzhou Normal University Cangqian Gymnasium into one of the absolute joys with a sensational 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-21) victory over Japan’s second-string squad in the gold-medal match which made the home crowd inside the packed venue erupt in celebration. Thailand picked up bronze medal following their exceptional 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-20) triumph over Vietnam in the third place playoff.
Aside from the eight AVC events this year plus the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Asian teams also tested their mettle in regional competitions including the 2023 Pacific Games, CAVA Men’s Challenge Cup in October, the SEA V.League (formerly ASEAN Grand Prix) in both men’s and women’s events, FIVB Club World Championships, the FIVB Challenger Cup, the Volleyball Nations League and the Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification Tournaments.
In the FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup, the men’s event was held in Doha, Qatar from July 28 to 30, which saw Turkey win the title and secure a promotion slot to compete in the 2024 VNL. Hosts Qatar finished second, with China and Thailand in fifth and 7th places respectively.
The women’s competition took place in Laval, France between July 27 to 30, with France stealing the limelight to capture the crown. Vietnam finished on the bottom eighth.
Meanwhile, Tahiti made a clean sweep of both gold medals on offer in the men’s and women’s volleyball competitions in the 2023 Pacific Games from November 19 to December 2 in Solomon Islands’ capital city Honiara.
Hosts Sri Lanka underlined their supremacy over the CAVA Men’s Volleyball Challenge Cup Colombo 2023 after overpowering Uzbekistan in the final showdown at Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium in Colombo on Sunday, October 16 as Afghanistan picked up bronze medal following 3-0 demolition of Saudi Arabia.
Regarding the SEA V.League events, which saw Indonesia and Philippines host the men’s event and Thailand and Vietnam organize the women’s competition, Indonesia made a clean sweep of both gold medals on offer in the two-leg events, while Thailand also followed suit to top the four-team event in both legs.
In the FIVB Men’s Club World Championship in India between December 6 and 10, Asian club winners Suntory Sunbirds from Japan claimed bronze medal and host clubs Ahmedabad Defenders finished on the bottom sixth place, while the Women’s Club World Championship in Hangzhou, China from December 13 to 17 saw hosts China’s Tianjin Bohai Bank secure bronze medal and Asian Club champions Sport Center 1 from Vietnam finish on the bottom sixth.
China emerged as the best Asian team in the Women’s VNL following their second-place finish this year. Japan came in 7th place overall, Thailand 14th and Korea 16th respectively.
In the Men’s VNL, Japan made their mark to claim bronze medal, while Iran finished a distant 14th and China 15th.
In the three-pool Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification Tournaments from September 30 to October 8, Japan had emerged as the only Asian men’s team so far to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games as they finished second to USA in Pool B on home soil.
Unfortunately, no Asian women’s team did not make the cut in the three-pool Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification Tournament from September 16 to 24 when only top two teams secured their places in the next year’s Olympic Games. China came in fourth place in Pool A, Japan finished third in Pool B, with Thailand and Korea in fourth and eighth places respectively in Pool C in Poland.
2023 AVC BEACH VOLLEYBALL EVENTS
Many beach volleyball events had been organised by AVC in 2023. As the COVID-19 pandemic had less of an impact in Asia, the beach volleyball activities were in full swing in the region, with the AVC Beach Volleyball Continental Cup taking place in five zones consisting of the Western Zone in Doha, Qatar from February 21 to 23, Southeastern Zone in Preah Sihanouk in Cambodia from May 11 to 16, Eastern Zone in Tangshan, China between September 31 and October 1, Oceania Zone in Port Vila, Vanuatu during September 1 and 4 and Central Zone at Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh from September 8 to 11.
Apart from the AVC Beach Volleyball Continental Cup in all five zones, the AVC Beach Tour, Asian Age Group Beach Volleyball Championships, Asian Senior Beach Volleyball Championships and the multi-sports Games including the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China and the Pacific Games in Solomon Islands had also been held in 2013.
The AVC Beach Tour 22nd Samila Open in Songkhla, Thailand from April 14 to 17 saw Chinese athletes make a clean sweep of both gold medals at stake, with Ha Likejiang/Wu Jiaxin landing the men’s title and Dong Jie/Wang Fan capturing the women’s crown.
In the 2023 Asian Beach Volleyball Championships in Pingtan, China from June 23 to 26, Chinese Xia Xinyi/Xue Chen topped the women’s podium, while Australians Thomas Hodges/Zachery Schubert captured the men’s title.
Thailand hosted the 5th Asian U21 Beach Volleyball Championships in Roi Et from July 13 to 16. Australian athletes swept both gold medals on offer, with Lucas Josefsen/Ben Hoods standing on top of the victory podium and Jasmine Fleming/Stefanie Fejes taking home the women’s title.
Australia and Japan shared the honors in the AVC Beach Tour Penghu Open in Chinese Taipei from August 17 to 20, with
Mark Nicolaidis/Izac Carracher handing the former the men’s title and Miki Ishii/Sayaka Mizoe winning the women’s crown for the latter.
In the 19th Asian Games Beach Volleyball Tournaments in Ningbo, China, reigning men’s champions Cherif Younousse/Ahmed Tijan of Qatar, world No.3 at that time and Tokyo Olympic Games bronze medalists, proved their superiority over Abuduhalikejiang/Wu Jiaxin after stunning the host duo 2-0 (21-19, 21-16) in the final showdown, while Chinese Xia Xinyi/Xue Chen restored the hosts’ pride to claim the women’s gold medal following their 21-11, 21-13 win against Japanese Miki Ishii/Sayaka Mizoe in the final clash.
Czech Republic’s Ondrej Perusic/David Schweiner underlined their supremacy over the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Mexico between October 6 and 12, while the women’s crown went to Americans Sara Hughes/Kelly Cheng after dethroning Brazil’s reigning champions Ana Patricia Ramos/Eduarda Santos Lisboa.
The FIVB U21 Beach Volleyball World Championships in Roi Et, Thailand saw Belgians Joppe van Langendonck/Kyan Vercauteren and Netherlanders Desy Poiesz/Brecht Piersma capture the world title in respective men’s and women’s events.
To gain their competition experience and composure, Asian players also took part in the World Beach Pro Tour Challenge events, regional competitions as well as the 2023 Pacific Games in Solomon Islands between November 19 and December 2 and the World Beach Games in Bali, Indonesia from August 12 to 16.
The last day of the year remind all Asian athletes and volleyball enthusiasts to be thankful for the good, to let go of the bad, and not to be afraid to step out of their comfort zones for the next year’s new challenge and great opportunity. Are you ready to make a positive transition into the next year?
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