KATHMANDU, JANUARY 8 New Diamond Youth Sports Club and defending champions Nepal Police Club began the ninth Sher Bahadur Khadka Memorial National Women's Volleyball Tournament with commanding straight-set victories on Wednesday. At the National Sports Council covered hall in Tripureshwar, New Diamond defeated Nepal Army 25–16, 25–15, 25–17, while Nepal Police beat six-time champions APF Club 25–22, 25–20, 25–21. New Diamond's Sumitra Regmi and Nepal Police's Punam Chand were named 'Player of the Match' in their respective games, each earning Rs 15,000. The four-team tournament follows a round-robin format, with the top two teams advancing to the final on Saturday. The other two teams will play for third place. The event, sponsored by KNP Nerolac, offers Rs 500,000 to the champions, Rs 250,000 to the runners-up, and Rs 125,000 to the third-place team. Additional awards include Rs 50,000 for the MVP, Rs 25,000 each for seven category winners, and Rs 15,000 for every 'Player of the Match'. Two matches are scheduled for Thursday: Nepal Police vs Tribhuvan Army, and New Diamond vs APF.