KATHMANDU, MAY 15

The Nepal Volleyball Association is all set to host the CAVA Women's Challenge Cup here at the NSC covered hall from May 22-28.

A total of eight teams will compete in the league-cum-knockout tournament which is being hosted in Nepal for the first time.

Nepal are in Group A along with India, Bangladesh and Kyrgyzstan, while Group B consists of Sri Lanka, Maldives, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Assistant coach Jagdish Bhatta said the team was committed in putting up a good show in the tournament. 'We have won gold medals in two previous editions and we have focused on completing a hat-trick,' said Bhatta. 'With a couple of new players, the team set-up is new. We had to rely on few players in the past but the case is different now. All players have come up good and they are equally brilliant,' he added. 'We are hoping for a better performance than before.'

Bhatta said Kyrgyzstan were new opponents and the team would prepare plans to stop them.'They are complete a new side for us and we have not been able to find their videos as well.

They are definitely stronger than us - physically with height advantage.We will sit down and prepare our strategy in due course,' Bhatta added.

NVA President Jitendra Chand said the association was committed in providing the participating teams and delegations with top class hospitality. 'We know we don't have world-class covered hall for the tournament. The CAVA members also know the fact.

But we can win their hearts with top-class hospitality and we will not leave any stone unturned in that aspect,' he said. 'We have decorated the NSC Covered Hall as per our capacity and I am grateful to all the sponsors and partners for their generous support to make it a grand success,' he said.

Chand said the NVA and NSC had signed an agreement regarding the sponsorship of the tournament.'The NSC has already announced the financial support of five million rupees,' he said.

The estimated budget of the tournament is Rs 20.71 million. NVA president Chand said he was confident of managing the amount from sponsors and well-wishers. Rastriya Banijya Bank, Kelme Nepal, Abhibadan Travels, Nepal Tourism Board, Hyatt Palace, Nepal Telecom, Hamro Khelkud, Frontline Hospital, 100 Sports, School Volleyball Commission, Dhorpatan Sports Club, New Diamond Sports Club, Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Lalitpur Metropolitan City, Nepal Airlines have joined hands with NVA for the event, informed media coordinator Bhim Oli.

Meanwhile, former NVA President Manoranjan Raman Sharma and School Volleyball Commission handed over Rs 100,000 and Rs 75,000 respectively to NVA Treasurer Shyam Shrestha.

A version of this article appears in the print on May 16, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.