The tournament is now under way in Taipei, Chinese Taipei from July 8 to 15
Fired-up Korea, Indonesia, Mongolia and hosts Chinese Taipei kicked off their action-packed campaigns with convincing victories in the 2023 AVC Challenge Cup for Men, the Asia’s qualification tournament from which the eventual champions will qualify for the FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup in Doha, Qatar in late July and open up their opportunity to get promoted and compete in the 2024 edition of the FIVB Volleyball Nations League.
Korea, current world No.33 and third place at the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup in Seoul, got off to a brilliant start following their sensational straight-set 25-20, 25-15, 25-23 win against world No.60 Thailand in the opening Pool B clash at the University of Taipei Hall.
Jung Jiseok chipped in with 16 points including 12 attacks and 3 aces for Korea, while Hwang Kyungmin and Heo Subong, who was the best spiker on 54 kills in the 2022 VCC, added 12 and 10 points respectively. Napadet Bhinijdee led Thailand with 10 points including 8 attacks from 13 attempts.
In Pool F at the same competition venue, Indonesia, defending and successive three-time South East Asian (SEA) Games champions, also started the eight-day meet in memorable fashion with dramatic four-set 25-21, 25-19, 20-25, 25-17 win against Sri Lanka.
Farhan Halim emerged as the Indonesia’s top scorer with 19 points including 12 attacks and team-leading 4 aces, while Jayalath Arachchige Mahela Indeewara Bandara scored a match-high 25 points including 21 attacks on the Sri Lanka’s losing effort.
In Pool D at Taipei Gym, Mongolia tasted their first win in the top-tier tournament following their comfortable straight-set 25-14, 25-20, 25-19 triumph over Macao, China.
Amar Batmunkh and Nyamsukh Sukhee scored 12 points apiece for the Mongolia’s win, while no Macao, China player scored double-digit marker, with Tang Chi Hou bagging 7 points on the team’s loss.
Meanwhile, the Opening Ceremony was held at the University of Taipei Hall, with all participating teams as well as the Control Committee and the local organisers attending.
Athletes and team officials from all participating teams marched into the court and listened to the welcome message from Chinese Taipei Volleyball Association President Mr Kong Chien-Jung, who, joined by CC President and Technical Delegate Mr Shanrit Wongprasert, himself AVC Executive Director, presided over the ceremony.
Mr Shanrit presented the AVC Plaque to the CTVA President for their great contribution in hosting the fourth edition of the AVC Challenge Cup for Men between July 8 and 15 in Taipei.
The host nation welcomed all visiting teams and officials and satisfied them with a spectacular drum-hitting show which demonstrated a rich history of fascinating Chinese Taipei’s cultural traditions.
After the Opening Ceremony, the curtain-raiser between world No.44 Chinese Taipei and world No.61 Kazakhstan was held. Devastating left-hander Wu Tsung-Hsuan steered the host side to an exceptional 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-12, 25-23 win against Kazakhstan in their preliminary Pool A clash.
Wu Tsung-Hsuan chipped in with 18 points from 16 attacks and two aces for Chinese Taipei, which finished a well-earned fourth place at the 2021 Asian Senior Men’s Championship in Japan. Veteran Vitaliy Vorivodin led Kazakhstan with 16 points on the team’s loss.
On Sunday, Philippines will play their first match against Macao, China in Pool D, Korea face Saudi Arabia in Pool B, Sri Lanka take on Bahrain in Pool F and Vietnam meet Australia in Pool E.
In this tournament, which was formerly a biannual competition, but is now held every year as the tournament serves as a qualifier for the FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup, participating teams were divided into six pools, with hosts Chinese Taipei and Kazakhstan in Pool A and Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Korea in Pool B.
Pool C features Hong Kong China (Uzbekistan and India withdrew). Mongolia joined Philippines and Macao China in Pool D, while Pool E consists of Australia and Vietnam (Pakistan pulled out of the tournament some days ahead of the kickoff). Pool F comprises Bahrain, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
Teams will contest the pool round-robin preliminaries, with the top two teams from each pool advancing. The third-ranked teams from each pool will be next assigned in Pool G, playing for 13th-17th places. A drawing of lots will be conducted to decide the numbers from G1 to G3. Teams finishing second in each pool will also have a drawing of lots to pair with the first-ranked teams in each pool.
The eventual winners from the 2023 AVC Challenge Cup for Men in Taipei will join the already qualified 6 teams comprising Chile, Dominican Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and hosts Qatar in the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup in Doha between July 26 and 30, 2023. The last team to join the 2023 VCC will be the lowest-ranked Challenger team of the current edition of the VNL, making it 8 teams in total to fight for the lone promotion ticket to compete in the 2024 edition of the Volleyball Nations League.
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