ASIAN MEN’S CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP SET TO BEGIN IN MYANMAR

Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, July 29, 2018 – The 2018 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship gets under way on Monday, when hosts Myanmar’s Asia World Club face Binagar from Turkmenistan following an opening ceremony at the Wunna Theikdi Indoor Stadium Hall B.

To ensure that all is set for the top-tier annual competition in terms of the teams’ participation, host country’s roles, competition regulations and the organisers’ management planning in all aspects,
the General Technical Meeting was held on Sunday and came to a successful conclusion within one hour.

Competition Director Mr U Thein Win, himself Vice Chairman of the Myanmar Volleyball Federation (MVF), presided over the meeting at the Horizon Lake View Resort here, with coaches and team officials from 12 participating teams in attendance. Only team officials from China’s Sichuan missed the meeting as the team were due to arrive at the Nay Pyi Taw Airport at the same time as the General Technical Meeting was being held.

The championship will take place at the Wunna Theikdi Indoor Stadium Hall B and Hall C from July 30 to August 6, with 13 teams vying for the top honour. They are Khalam Ardakan (Iran), Toray Arrows (Japan) and Atyrau (Kazakhstan) in Pool A, while Pool B comprises Sichuan (China), Long Power (Chinese Taipei) and Sanest Khanh Hoa (Vietnam). Pool C consists of Nakhonratchasima The Mall VC (Thailand), Canberra Heat (Australia), Lanka Lions (Sri Lanka) and Yanchai (Hong Kong), with Asia World Club (Myanmar), WAPDA (Pakistan) and Binagar (Turkmenistan) in Pool D.

Mr U Thein Win delivered a welcome speech to the meeting, saying that Al-Rayyan Club from Qatar pulled out of the championship a few days ago which gave the host country difficulty in providing documents and competition informations. However, everything still went smoothly as planned. He also informed that this is the second time Nay Pyi Taw hosted the Asian Men’s Club Championship. The first one was held in 2016, with 14 teams participating and the second one this year initially attracted 16 teams. However, Iraq, Jordan and Qatar withdrew ahead of the competition.

Following the welcome speech, Control Committee Chairman Mr Shanrit Wongprasert, himself the AVC Secretary-General, asked all team officials to send their feedback, comments and suggestions to AVC about the new competition format, newly applied for use for all AVC Championships starting from this year. He said that all comments and feedbacks will be sent to AVC Sports Events Council Chairman Dr Eom Han-Joo and brought for consideration during the AVC Board of Administration.

Technical Delegate Mr G.E.Sridharan informed all participating teams necessary matters including eligibility of players and officials (team composition), while Referee Delegate Mr Dean Turner reported on the Rules of the Game to be applied in this championship, discipline on the court and match protocol.

Mr Shanrit said on behalf of Medical Delegate Dr Rueangsak Siriphol about the medical matters and court medical assistance. Dr Rueangsak is due to arrive in Nay Pyi Taw on August 2 to take care of the anti-doping control.

Press Delegate Mr Preechachan Wiriyanupappong informed the team head coaches about the press interview at the mixed zone and asked them to catch updates of the competition on AVC social media platforms including AVC Website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

After the meeting, the welcome dinner was held, with all players, team officials, Control Committee members and the organisers enjoying their dinner.

In terms of the competition, the pool round-robin preliminaries will be held from July 30 to August 1, with teams having a rest day the following day. The quarter-final ranking round for teams ranked ranging from R4 to R13 will compete for their place in the quarter-finals.

Traditionally, the top team from this Asian Men’s Club Championship will represent Asia in the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship the following year.

MATCH SCHEDULE
Monday, July 30, 2018
Court 1
10.00am: Opening ceremony
11.00am: Asia World Club (Myanmar) v Binagar (Turkmenistan)
13.30pm: Nakhonratchasima The Mall VC (Thailand) v Yanchai (Hong Kong)
16.00pm: Sichuan (China) v Long Power (Chinese Taipei)
Court 2
13.30pm: Canberra Heat (Australia) v Lanka Lions (Sri Lanka)
16.00pm: Khalam Ardakan (Iran) v Atyrau (Kazakhstan)

Tuesday, July 31, 2018
Court 1
11.00am: Nakhonratchasima The Mall VC (Thailand) v Canberra Heat (Australia)
13.30pm: Khalam Ardakan (Iran) v Toray Arrows (Japan)
16.00pm: Asia World Club (Myanmar) v WAPDA (Pakistan)
Court 2
13.30pm: Yanchai (Hong Kong) v Lanka Lions (Sri Lanka)
16.00pm: Sanest Khanh Hoa (Vietnam) v Long Power (Chinese Taipei)

Wednesday, August 1, 2018
Court 1
11.00am: Lanka Lions (Sri Lanka) v Nakhonratchasima The Mall VC (Thailand)
13.30pm: Toray Arrows (Japan) v Atyrau (Kazakhstan)
16.00pm: Sichuan (China) v Sanest Khanh Hoa (Vietnam)
Court 2
13.30pm: Canberra Heat (Australia) v Yanchai (Hong Kong)
16.00pm: WAPDA (Pakistan) v Binagar (Turkmenistan)

Related links of AVC
AVC Website: click www.asianvolleyball.net
AVC Facebook: click www.Facebook.com/AsianVolleyballConfederation
AVC Twitter: click: https://twitter.com/avcvolley
AVC Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/avcvolley/?hl=en
AVC Youtube: click: Asian Volleyball Confederation
AVC WeChat: Asian Volleyball Confederation