Nepal will not be allowed to play in the 21st Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship in the Philippines. The Nepali team was disqualified after the Philippine government refused to allow travel to Nepal as highly sensitive areas for corona virus infection.
Nepal and India, who did not get travel permission, were not included in the schedule for the tournament scheduled to be held in Manila from September 13 to 20. Jitendra Bahadur Chand, general secretary of the Nepal Volleyball Association, who was recently appointed treasurer in the central region, said the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) could not include Nepal as the Philippines did not allow travel.
Initially, 17 teams were expected to participate in the competition. After five teams withdrew from China, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Vietnam and New Zealand, 12 teams will participate. After the reduction of four teams, the eight teams playing in the final competition have been divided into two groups and the schedule has been made public.
Group B includes Thailand, South Korea, Iran and Australia.Group A hosts Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, Chinese Taipei and Uzbekistan.
The Nepali women’s team, which is going to play the Asian Championship for the first time, has been preparing for a month. Initially, 27 players were kept in closed training and 9 players were reduced in the first phase. The volleyball association had started discussions with the National Sports Council (NSC), the ministry and other sponsors, estimating that it would cost Rs 15 million to prepare for the tournament from the very beginning. The volleyball association has postponed the closed training of the team after not being allowed to play in the tournament.
( Source Kantipur News )
