Bangkok, Thailand, August 20, 2021 – Undefeated Kazakhstan made a clean sweep in the round-robin preliminaries of the inaugural Central Asian Senior Men’s and Women’s Volleyball Challenge Cup in Fergana, Uzbekistan to secure their semifinal berths in both events.
The three-day, single round-robin preliminaries at Samo Sports Complex came to a close on Thursday, with Kazakhstan ending their first-round campaign on a high note following their three wins in succession in both men’s and women’s events. With their remarkable unbeaten run, Kazakhstan captured the top spot to advance to the semifinals.
Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and hosts Uzbekistan are taking part in the on-going Challenge Cup to sharpen their skills, gain competition experience and vie for the top honour.
According to the competition format, all participating teams will compete in the single round-robin preliminaries, with Friday, August 20 being the rest day. The semifinals on August 21 will see the top team after the first round take on the fourth place and the second-ranked team play the third-ranked side. The two winning teams in the semifinals will then advance to the final showdown on August 22, while the two losers will fight it out in the third-place playoff match on the same day.
In the men’s event, Kazakhstan, current world No.60 and silver medallists in the 2017 Asian Senior Men’s Championship in Indonesia, got their Challenge Cup campaign off to a victorious start with a dramatic 3-2 (25-22, 18-25, 22-25, 25-19, 15-8) win against Kyrgyzstan on August 17, the opening day of the six-day competition. Hosts Uzbekistan also made their mark to tactically and technically overwhelm Tajikistan in a totally lopsided affair 25-12, 25-11, 25-16.
Kazakhstan, the only team from the strong Group A of the Central Asian Volleyball Association to test their mettle in the Challenge Cup, flexed their muscles to shut out the host side 3-1 and Tajikistan 3-0 for a clean sweep in the preliminary round.
After falling at the first hurdle, world No.91 Kyrgyzstan improved their fortunes in the remaining two preliminary matches as they outclassed Tajikistan in straight sets, but struggled hard to beat the host side in epic tiebreaker 16-25, 25-22, 27-25, 23-25, 15-13.
Hosts Uzbekistan registered their first 3-0 win against Tajikistan on the first day, but succumbed to two defeats in the remaining two matches, 1-3 to Kazakhstan and 2-3 to Kyrgyzstan.
Governor of Batken Region of the Kyrgyzstan Republic A.Alimbaev visited Fergana on Thursday to observe the big match between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. The guest of honour was welcomed by Deputy Governor of Fergana Region, Head of the Main Department of Tourism and Sports H. Ahmedov. During the visit, Alimbaev also inspected the conditions at the Samo Sports Complex.
At the conclusion of the round-robin preliminaries, formidable Kazakhstan finished on top of the standings with 8 points from straight 3 wins, followed by Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan with 6 points and 4 points respectively. Winless Tajikistan came in fourth place overall.
In the women’s event, current world No.21 Kazakhstan, fifth place at the previous Asian Senior Women’s Championship in Korea two years ago, proved too strong for the less-ranked three rivals. The Kazakhs first pulled off a straight-set win against world No.117 Kyrgyzstan and made it three in a row following the next two wins as they later brushed off hosts Uzbekistan 3-1 and Tajikistan 3-0.
Uzbekistan, also No.117 in the FIVB world ranking, captured their 3-0 win against Tajikistan on the first day, but had mixed fortunes in the next two matches as they went down 1-3 to the stronger Kazakhstan and saw off Kyrgyzstan in straight sets.
Kyrgyzstan claimed only one straight-set win over Tajikistan on August 18, but lost two matches including 0-3 to Kazakhstan on the first day and the same margin to Uzbekistan on August 19.
Kazakhstan led the charge with full 9 points from 3 wins in a row, while Uzbekistan had 6 points to come in second place. Kyrgyzstan collected 3 points to finish third and winless Tajikistan finished on the bottom of the standing.
The 1st Central Asian Senior Men’s and Women’s Volleyball Challenge Cup will resume on Saturday in the semifinals, with Kazakhstan taking on Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan meeting Uzbekistan in the men’s event.
The similar matchup will also be held in the women’s semifinals, with Kazakhstan playing Tajikistan and Uzbekistan going up against Kyrgyzstan. The two winning teams in both events will fight it out for the eventual title, while the two losers will vie for the third place.
PRELIMINARY-ROUND RESULTS
MEN
AUGUST 17
Kazakhstan b Kyrgyzstan 3-2 (25-22, 18-25, 22-25, 25-19, 15-8)
Uzbekistan b Tajikistan 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-14)
AUGUST 18
Kyrgyzstan b Tajikistan 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-18)
Kazakhstan b Uzbekistan 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 22-25, 25-21)
AUGUST 19
Kazakhstan b Tajikistan 3-0 (25-16, 25-9, 25-15)
Kyrgyzstan b Uzbekistan 3-2 (16-25, 25-22, 27-25, 23-25, 15-13)
WOMEN
AUGUST 17
Kazakhstan b Kyrgyzstan 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-15)
Uzbekistan b Tajikistan 3-0 (25-12, 25-11, 25-16)
AUGUST 18
Kyrgyzstan b Tajikistan 3-0 ( 25-14, 25-21, 25-16)
Kazakhstan b Uzbekistan 3-1 (25-22, 26-24, 16-25, 25-15)
AUGUST 19
Kazakhstan b Tajikistan 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-11)
Uzbekistan b Kyrgyzstan 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-15)
STANDINGS AFTER PRELIMINARIES
MEN
1. Kazakhstan 3 wins 8 points
2. Kyrgyzstan 2 wins 6 points
3. Uzbekistan 1 win 4 points
4. Tajikistan 0 win 0 point
WOMEN
1. Kazakhstan 3 wins 9 points
2. Uzbekistan 2 wins 6 points
3. Kyrgyzstan 1 win 3 points
4. Tajikistan 0 win 0 point
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