Bangkok, Thailand, October 10, 2023 – The CAVA Men’s Volleyball Challenge Cup Colombo 2023 is now under way at Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka, with a potential field of six teams actively strutting their stuff in the single round-robin competition to vie for top honor.
Hon. Prime Minister of Socialist Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka Dinesh Gunawardena presided over the opening ceremony and officially declared the one-week tournament open on Monday, October 9.
Hon. Prime Minister of Socialist Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka Dinesh Gunawardena
Attending the inauguration as guests of honor comprised Mr Mohamed Latheef from Maldives, President of CAVA (Central Asian Volleyball Association), the governing body for the sports of indoor, beach and grass volleyball in Central Asia and South Asia, President of Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation Mr Kanchana Jayarathna, General Secretary of SLVF Mr A.S. Nalaka, Treasurer of SLVF Mr G.D.T.S. Perera, all the Vice Presidents of SLVF and the Executive Committee Members.
Distinguished guests attending the opening ceremony
Ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka also joined the ceremony, in which a traditional part started with a parade of all participating teams and all players listened to a welcome address of the Prime Minister. Subsequently, Prime Minister launched the Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation Website.
President of Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation Mr Kanchana Jayarathna,
On the same occasion, President of Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation Mr Kanchana Jayarathna expressed his thanks to the President of CAVA for entrusting the country with the opportunity to host the CAVA Men’s Volleyball Challenge Cup 2023.
A beautiful traditional dance was also performed in front of the participation teams and distinguished quests during the opening ceremony.
The tournament is being held from October 9 to 15, with all participating teams contesting single round-robin preliminaries. After that, teams finishing first and second places will renew their rivalry in the final showdown, while teams finishing third and fourth places will fight it out in the third-place playoff clash for bronze medal.
On Monday, the first day of the competition, world No.68 Afghanistan, which finished a disappointing 17th in the recent 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 Men’s Competition in Hangzhou, China, struggled in their opener against Uzbekistan to narrowly beat the world No.86 in epic tie-breaker 25-17, 26-24, 26-28, 22-25, 15-13 in grueling 123 minutes.
Haidari Gulam Rasool chipped in with 17 points including 16 kills from 38 attempts for Afghanistan, while Sobirov Islomjon scored 15 points, all in attack, in the Uzbekistan’s loss.
In the second encounter, world No.67 and hosts Sri Lanka got their campaign in the CAVA Men’s Challenge Cup off to a solid start with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 26-24) shutout of world No.65 Saudi Arabia.
Bandar Jayalath scored a match-high 20 points from 16 attacks, 3 blocks and one ace for Sri Lanka, while Alqurashi Meshari led Saudi Arabia with 13 points including 12 attacks.
The Sri Lankans dominated the attacking and blocking game with 41 to 38 in kills and 7 stuffs to 2 aside from 2 aces to 0, beside from benefitting more opponent errors (26 to 20).
In the third match, Nepal, which finished 18th place in Hangzhou, sealed dramatic 3-1 (25-20, 19-25, 25-23, 25-21) win against world No.72 Bangladesh.
Awasthi Tea Raj delivered 22 points from 20 kills and 2 aces for Nepal, while Horosit Biswas scored 12 points on the Bangladesh’s losing effort.
On Tuesday, October 10, Saudi Arabia will take on Uzbekistan, while hosts Sri Lanka go up against Nepal and Bangladesh play Afghanistan.
MATCH RESULTS AND STANDING
MATCH SCHEDULE
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