Bangkok, Thailand, December 25, 2021 – The AVC Central Zone Senior Men’s and Women’s Challenge Cup 2021 commenced at Shaheed Suhrawardy National Indoor Stadium in Mirpur, Bangladesh on Thursday.
Mr Mohammad Atiqul Islam, President of Bangladesh Volleyball Federation and Mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation, welcomed all participating teams and officials in the opening ceremony on December 23.
In his welcome speech, he said that Bangladesh always works hard to develop volleyball in the country as well as in the region. As the mayor, it was his great pleasure to host the competition in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Central Asian Volleyball Association (CAVA) President Mr Mohamed Latheef from Maldives warmly welcomed all the teams and thanked Atiqul for hosting the competition in Bangladesh. Also, he thanked the government of Bangladesh for providing great support to develop volleyball in the country.
Latheef said, “The main reason of organizing these two competitions is to create a platform, where we can showcase our skills, learn to win and lose, and strengthen friendship. I am sure that this tournament will teach us all these elements.”
“I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all players from Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to this Central Zone’s top-flight competition. This is a golden opportunity for you all to show your best talent, and also strengthen cordial friendship among other players of the Zone. I have no doubt that you all will make the best out of this Challenge Cup,”Latheef cited.
He further urged all players to maintain and honor the sporting ethics of FIVB and AVC apart from maintaining fairness among the team members and members of other teams.
Minister of Commerce Mr Tipu Munshi was the honorable chief guest of the opening ceremony. He warmly welcomed the CAVA President and appreciated his presence in this wonderful competition in Bangladesh. The Minister was very pleased with the great words by CAVA President about friendship and unity.
The State Minister of Youth and Sports of Bangladesh Mr Md. Zahid Ahsan Russel was in attendance on Thursday, while CAVA Secretary General Mr Kylych Sarbaghyshev from Kyrgyzstan, despite his busy schedule, also attended the opening ceremony.
Meanwhile, hosts Bangladesh enjoyed mixed fortunes on the very first day of the competition, with their women’s team going down to Kyrgyzstan and their men’s side proving too strong for Nepal.
On December 23, Uzbekistan got the Challenge Cup off to a good start with a sensational 3-0 win against Maldives in the women’s opening match, while Nepal edged past Sri Lanka 3-2 and Kyrgyzstan outclassed Bangladesh 3-0.
After the opening ceremony, the curtain-raisers between Bangladesh and Nepal saw the former delight home fans with a straight-set win against the latter in the men’s event. In the day’s last match, Sri Lanka powered past Uzbekistan in straight sets.
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