Kathmandu, Nepal, December 14, 2024 – Calicut Heroes of India captured maiden title in the 2024 CAVA Men’s Club Volleyball Championship after dramatic 3-1 win against hosts Help Nepal Sports Club in the highly-anticipated showdown at Tripureswor Hall on Saturday.
The fantastic 25-21, 24-26, 25-14, 25-17 victory not only gave Calicut Heroes a sweet revenge against the team they had lost 2-3 in their opening match on December 7, but also handed them the first-ever title of the inaugural eight-day championship.
The last day of the 2024 CAVA Men’s Club Championship delivered an electrifying atmosphere in Kathmandu, as a large number of home fans flocked into the competition venue to witness two intense matches, starting with the bronze medal match at 1300pm local time, followed by gold medal clash at 1530pm.
Earlier in the third-place playoff, Iran Club survived a sturdy challenge from Club HDC of Maldives, the team they had beaten 3-2 in the single round-robin preliminaries, to wrap up the match in closely-contested three-setter 25-21, 27-25, 27-25 and return with bronze medal.
Opposite Amir Naderi Noureyni had a stellar performance to contribute a team-high 19 points from 12 attacks, 2 blocks, and 5 aces for Iran Club, while opposite Zhantemir Zheenbek Uulu from Kyrgyzstan emerged as the star performer of the day with 21 points from 19 attacks, one block and one ace for Club HDC.
The Iranians dominated the blocking game, getting 16 stuffs to Club HDC’s four, and also had more aces (6 to 1), but the Maldivian side did a very good job of leading their opponents in kills (44 to 43) and benefited from more opponent errors (22 to 14).
The eagerly-awaited gold medal match saw Calicut Heroes from India, fresh from 3-1 demolition of top-ranked Iran Club in the Friday’s semifinals, face off against Help Nepal Sports Club in the Saturday’s showdown. The high-octane clash ended with Calicut Heroes making their mark to land the historic title with a solid 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-14, 25-17) victory against the host side.
The 200cm-tall middle blocker Shikhar Singh played a big part of the Calicut Heroes’ victory, producing 17 points from 11 attacks, 4 blocks and 2 aces, while outside hitter Mubashar Raza and fellow outside hitter Mazhar Ali, both talented imports from Pakistan, delivered strong performances, scoring 16 points each on the hosts’ loss.
Despite HNC’s valiant efforts, the teamwork and determination of Calicut Heroes ultimately…
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