Bangkok, Thailand, February 18, 2022 – Hosts Sri Lanka got off to a flying start in the 2022 Central Asian Volleyball Association (CAVA) Beach Volleyball Championship for the 75th Independence Cup at Beach Park Negombo on the very first day of the inaugural competition.
CAVA President Mr Mohamed Latheef from Maldives, himself the Control Committee Chairman, and Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation President Hon. Kanchana Jayarathna jointly presided over the opening ceremony on Friday, with SLVF Secretary General Mr Nalaka Shanthasiri and Negombo MC Mayor Hon. Dayal Lansa in attendance as guests of honour.
SLVF is hosting the 1st CAVA Beach Volleyball Championship between February 18 and 20, with players from five countries consisting of Iran, Uzbekistan, Maldives, Pakistan and hosts Sri Lanka vying for the top honour in both men’s and women’s events.
Sri Lanka sent three pairs in the men’s event, with Iran, Maldives and Pakistan fielding two pairs apiece and Uzbekistan one, while the women’s competition sees the host nation send three teams, Maldives two and Uzbekistan one.
Participating teams in both men’s and women’s events have similarly been divided into two groups to compete in the group round-robin preliminaries. Only top two teams from each group in both events will advance to the semifinals.
In the women’s event, Pool A comprises two teams from Sri Lanka and one team from Maldives, while Sri Lanka, Maldives and Uzbekistan are in Pool B.
The men’s competition features Iran, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan and Uzbekistan in Pool A and Sri Lanka (2 teams), Pakistan, Maldives and Iran in Pool B.
The tournament commenced on Friday, with participating players giving their all-out in an effort of securing their places in the semifinals.
In the men’s Pool A encounters, Iranians Ali/Mahdi went atop the first-day standing following their three wins on the trot including their opening 2-0 (21-10, 21-10) triumph over Pakistan’s Zaheer/Haidar. The Iranians later overcame Maldivians Ahmed/Ali in three sets 21-9, 17-21, 15-10 before ending the day with another impressive 2-0 (21-8, 26-24) win against Uzbekistan’s Akhtamov S/Murodillaev J.
Tiron/Ashen
Sri Lankans Tiron/Ashen also made their mark on the first day of the unprecedented event with two wins in a row comprising the scintillating 2-0 (21-15, 21-12) win against Uzbekistan’s Akhtamov S/Murodillaev J and another superb 2-0 (21-15, 21-13) victory over Pakistan’s Zaheer/Haidar.
Tiron/Ashen will next take on Ahmed/Ali from Maldives in their first match on Saturday before challenging Iranians Ali/Mahdi in their second encounter on the same day.
Anjana/Sandun also delighted home fans after capturing two successive wins to lead Pool B. In their first match, the Sri Lankan pairing showed their brilliant form to stun Iranians S. Shekar/Aro in thrilling straight sets 21-16, 31-29 which lasted gruelling 52 minutes. They faced another daunting challenge in their second match against Maldives, coming from the first-set loss to beat Ismail/Adam in a hard-fought three-setter 19-21, 21-19, 15-12.
Anjana/Sandun will next go up against Nalin/Malintha Yapa in the all-Sri Lankans affair on Saturday and play Pakistan’s Mubashir/Abu Zar in their second match on the same day.
Deepika/Dinesha
Shehani/Sulochana Javawardana
In the women’s event, fifth seeds Shehani/Jayawardana and top seeds Deepika/Dinesha gave Sri Lanka a one-two finish on the Pool A leaderboard with respective 3 and 2 points, with the former having a mixed fortune on the first day and the latter claiming their first win.
Shehani/Jayawardana kicked off their campaign in this historic championship with a scintillating 2-0 (21-18, 21-5) win against Maldives’ Azuma/Majdha, but lost their touch in the second match against Deepika/Dinesha to go down to the compatriots 0-2 (18-21, 8-21).
Chathurika/Hashini
Sri Lankan second seeds Chathurika/Hashini moved to top Pool B following their lop-sided 21-8, 21-4 win against Uzbekistan’s Mavlonova/Sultanboeva, while Maldivian third seeds Rudhaina/Nazima came in second place in the pool after pulling off a dramatic 2-1 (21-15, 10-21, 15-8) win against Mavlanova/Sultanboeva in their very first match in the three-day competition.
On Saturday, Sri Lankans Deepika/Dinesha take on Maldivians Azuma/Majdha, with Sri Lankans Chathurika/Hashini going up against Maldivians Rudhajna/Nazima.
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