Promising Sana Anarkulova leads Altay to their unprecedented title in the Asian Women’s Club Championship in 2021 in Thailand
Bangkok, Thailand, April 21, 2023 – China’s Liaoning Donghua and Japan’s Hisamitsu Springs will be out to prove their wares in the 2023 Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship after a three-year absence of teams from both nations due to the impact of the COVID-19, as Mongolia will make their debut at the continent’s topflight club championship.
The 2023 edition will be held at Vinh Phuc Gymnasium in Vinh Phuc, Vietnam from April 25 to May 2, with a total of 9 teams fighting it out for top honor and the lone berth on offer to represent Asia in the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship, due to take place in China later this year.
Among the participating teams this year, China and Japan get back on track to this fun-filled, action-packed championship their teams have dominated for several times. The 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while in 2021, both China and Japan did not send their teams to Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, where the 2021 Asian Women’s Club Championship was organized with a secure bubble concept to ensure the health of all athletes and officials.
In 2022, the Championship took place in Semey, Kazakhstan, Japan was represented by Hisamitsu Springs, but days ahead of the commencement had to pull out of the Championship in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, while China could not participate due to the tightened epidemic preventive measures in several Chinese cities.
Liaoning
This time, China will be sending Liaoning Donghua Volleyball Club to the 2023 Championship in Vietnam, looking to stretch their domination in this continent’s annual tournament. China had already captured 8 titles including 5 from Tianjin Bohai Bank, 2 from Shanghai Bright Ubest and one from Guangdong Evergrande.
Liaoning Donghua clinched the Chinese Volleyball Super League in the 2005/06 season aside from picking up 2 silver (2001/02 and 2006/07) and 3 bronze medals (2000/01, 2002/03, 2003/04), but finished 7th at Chinese Volleyball League in the current 2022/23 season.
Hisamitsu Springs
Hisamitsu Springs, champions at the Japan’s 2021/22 V. League Division 1 and the Empress’ Cup All Japan Championship, had already captured the Asian Women’s Club Championship twice in Thailand in 2002 and 2014 and took additional 3 silver medals in 2001 in Vietnam, 2015 in Vietnam and 2017 in Kazakhstan. The Japanese side, third place at the 2022/23 V. League Division 1, also have their sights firmly set on winning the Japan’s fourth title in the Asian Women’s Club Championship this time in Vinh Phuc, Vietnam.
As Hisamitsu Springs clinched their Asian Club titles in 2002 and 2014, Japan also ruled the 2016 Championship in Philippines, where NEC Red Rockets overpowered China’s Bayi Shenzhen 3-1 in the final showdown.
Apart from China and Japan, the 2023 Asian Women’s Club Championship in Vinh Phuc, Vietnam between April 25 and May 2 has also attracted eye-catching outfits comprising Thailand’s Diamond Food Fine Chef-Air Force, Kazakhstan’s Altay VC, Chinese Taipei’s King Whale Taipei, Iran’s Paykan, Hong Kong China’s Hip Hing VC Club, Mongolia’s Khuvsgul Erchim VC and Vietnam’s Sport Center 1.
Diamond Food
Led by former world-class player and highly-skilled setter Nootsara Tomkom, Diamond Food Fine Chef-Air Force, former consecutive two-time Thailand League winners, hope for better improvement this time after returning with bronze medal at the last year’s Asian Women’s Club Championship in Kazakhstan, while Altay are no strangers to the Championship.
Altay
Altay reigned supreme in the 2021 Asian Club Championship in Thailand and claimed additional silver at the 2022 edition on home soil after going down to compatriots and eventual champions Kuanysh 2-3 in the showdown. Altay also finished 6th at the 2021 FIVB Women’s Club World Championship in Ankara, Turkey. Hard-hitting Sana Anarkulova is the Altay’s key player, winning the MVP award in the 2021 Asian Club Championship and the Best Outside Spiker Award in the 2022 edition.
Paykan
Iran’s Paykan, champions of Iran Women’s Premier League at the 2022/23 season, will also come to Vietnam with more determination in an effort of making the podium for the first time in history. Saipa Tehran and Barij Essence became the first two Iranian clubs to make their marks in the Asian Women’s Club Championship, finishing well-deserved fourth places at the respective 2021 and 2022 editions.
Chinese Taipei’s Chung Shan were within a whisker of winning gold medal at the 2005 and 2006 Asian Women’s Club Championship, only to return with silver medal. This time, King Whale Taipei, silver medallists at the 2022/23 PVL Invitational Conference in Philippines and gold medallists at the 2022/23 Taiwan Enterprise League, will don the Chinese Taipei’s colors to mount strong challenge against any team in the 2023 Asian Club Championship in Vietnam.
Hong Kong, China had competed in the Asian Women’s Club Championship twice, with Kwai Tsing finishing 11th out of 12 participants in the 2016 edition in Philippines and Hong Kong China Club returning with an improved 8th position from the 2019 edition in China. Hip Hing VC Club are making the Hong Kong China’s third attempt in the history of the Asian Club Championship,
Vietnam, represented by Sport Center 1
In the 2023 Asian Women’s Club Championship, hosts Vietnam will field Sport Center 1, the club team loaded with their national players led by star spiker Tran Thi Thanh Thuy. Certainly, this tournament is regarded as an opportunity for the Vietnamese women’s team to sharpen their skills ahead of the 32nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Game in Cambodia early next month.
Since the tournament inception in 1999 in Thailand, Mongolia has never sent its team to the Asian Women’s Club Championship. However, the 2023 edition in Vinh Phuc, Viet nam will be for the first time-ever that Mongolia will send its team to seek out experiences and opportunities to get exposure.
Meanwhile, the 9 participating teams have been divided into two pools. Pool A comprises Sport Center 1 (hosts Vietnam), Paykan (Iran), Hisamitsu Springs (Japan) and King Whale Taipei (Chinese Taipei), while Altay VC (Kazakhstan), Diamond Food Fine Chef-Air Force (Thailand), Liaoning Donghua Volleyball Club (China), Khuvsgul Erchim VC (Mongolia) and Hip Hing VB Club (Hong Kong, China) are in Pool B.
Teams will play pool round-robin preliminaries from April 25 to 29 and only top two teams will advance to the semifinals, while lower-ranked teams finishing 5th-9th after the first round will fight it out in their better positions in the classification round for 5th-9th places.
MATCH SCHEDULE
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