Thimphu, Bhutan, August 5, 2024 – Maldivians Naseem Adam/Ismail Sajid and Nepalese Pun Kamala/Chaudhary Manisha Kumari were crowned respective men’s and women’s champions of the CAVA Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup, which came to a successful close on Saturday, August 3 at Changlingmithang National Stadium in Thimphu here.
The double-gender event, hosted by the Bhutan Volleyball Federation for the country’s first-ever beach volleyball tournament, had attracted 18 teams including 10 men’s squads from Maldives, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Nepal and Bhutan to take on the sand courts.
After action-packed three days, Nepalese Pun/Manisha lived up to expectations to power past Jalolova Mukhlisakhon/Olimova Malikabonu from Uzbekistan in comfortable two-setter 21-17, 21-14 in 32 minutes to capture the women’s title. Uzbekistan won an additional bronze following Askarova Zamigora/Nurmatova Dinorakhon’s 2-0 (21-17, 23-21) victory against Maldives’ Areesha Aminath/Zeeniya Reschreiter Fathimath in the third-place playoff clash.
In the semifinals earlier, Jarolova/Olimova bounced back to beat the Maldivian duo in hard-fought 2-1 (15-21, 21-17, 15-11) win in exhausting 43 minutes, while Pun/Manisha pulled off an easy 2-0 (21-13, 21-12) win against Uzbekistan’s Askarova/Nurmatova in 29 minutes.
In the men’s event, Adam/Ismail from Maldives showed their outstanding performance to beat Nepalese Shrestha Man Bahadur/Sunar Dil Bahadur 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) in 34 minutes in the final showdown to be crowned the eventual champions.
Tajikistan had to be content with bronze medal when Ismoilov Fakhridin/Davlatmamadov Raim came from behind to beat another Maldivian duo of Ali Mohamed/Mohamed Ahmed 2-1 (21-23, 21-11, 15-11) in 48 minutes in the third-place playoff encounter.
The semifinal encounters earlier saw Maldivians Adam/Ismail struggle to beat Tajikistan’s Ismoilov/Raim 2-1 (21-17, 19-21, 15-10) in 44 minutes and Nepalese Shrestha/Sunar down another Maldivians Ali/Ahmed 2-0 (21-10, 21-16).
The event had been organised to showcase athletic talent and raise awareness about the pressing issue of global warming. Organisers said considering the heat these days, it is a perfect time to organise such an event in Thimphu.
Through the tournament, it was expected to foster international friendship and showcase the growing popularity of volleyball and beach volleyball in Bhutan.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) had been signed to commit to reducing plastic use,…
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