Colombo, Sri Lanka, October 6, 2024 – The CAVA Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship officially began on Sunday at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium in Colombo, with Nepal, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Maldives and hosts Sri Lanka strutting their stuffs to vie for the regional glory.
The championship is being held between October 6 and 12, with teams contesting the single round robin. After that, top two teams after the preliminaries will fight it out in the final showdown for the eventual title. Teams finishing third and fourth places will contest the third-place playoff, while those placed fifth and sixth will battle for the fifth position.
The first day of the pool preliminaries set an exciting tone for the tournament, with three electrifying matches showcasing intense competition.
The opening match featured two long-time rivals Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, with the former asserting dominance in a straight-sets victory 25-20, 28-26, 25-10. Despite a spirited second set from Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan managed to maintain control throughout, securing their first win of the tournament.
Haydarov Ogabek chipped in 13 points including 12 attacks from 21 attempts for Uzbekistan, while no Kyrgyzstan player reached double digits in scoring against their opponents. Temirbekov Temirlan scored 8 points from 7 attacks and one block on the team’s loss.
Following this, an opening ceremony was held at 3:00pm local time, celebrating the start of the championship.
The opening ceremony was held in a grand manner with the participation of Mr K Mahesan Secretary of the Ministry of Women, Children, Youth Affairs and Sports of Sri Lanka as Chief Guest and Mr Priyantha Weerasooriya, Inspector General of Police as Guest of Honour.
Also with the participation of other distinguished guests were Mr Asanka Dissanayake, Chairman of Asia Plantation & Export PVT Ltd and Mrs Dulanthi Kodikara, Hr & Admin Director of Asia Plantation & Export PVT Ltd.
And the ceremony began with the singing of the Sri Lankan National Anthem and the welcome dance represented the Sri Lankan culture.
Sri Lankan dignitaries and volleyball officials attended the ceremony and stayed on to witness the host nation face off against Nepal in a highly anticipated match.
Despite strong efforts and clear improvements from set to set, Sri Lanka ultimately fell short to Nepal in a 0-3 defeat (14-25, 23-25, 26-28).
Rasouli Sagar delivered 16 points from 10 attacks, team-leading 4 blocks and 2…
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