By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu – The men’s volleyball team of Nepal were beaten in straight sets by host Bangladesh during their opening match of the AVC Asian Central Zone Women’s and Men’s Volleyball Championship on Thursday.
Nepal were beaten 3-0 in the match held at Shaheed Sohrawardi Indoor Stadium in Mirpur. Dhaka. Nepal never posed any challenge to the hosts during the match.
Nepal lost the first two sets with an identical scoreline of 17-25 while they conceded the third set 25-19. At one point during the match, the score of Nepal and Bangladesh was 13-13 in the second set but Nepal could not keep up the momentum.
Nepal will next face Uzbekistan in their second match on Friday followed by the third match against Sri Lanka on Saturday and the last match against the Maldives on Sunday. The top two teams from the round-robin league will advance to the final scheduled for upcoming Tuesday. The playoffs for the third and fourth positions will be held ahead of the final.
Nepal had clinched bronze medal in the championship five years ago. It was the one and only international medal secured by the men’s volleyball team of Nepal.
On the other hand, the women’s team of Nepal lived up to the expectation of the defending champions with a five-set win over Sri Lanka earlier on Thursday. Although Nepal had lost the first two sets to Sri Lanka, they bounced back to win the remaining three sets in the opening match. Nepal lost the first two sets 19-25 and 21-25 and won the remaining three sets with a scoreline of 25-15, 25-19, 15-13.
The women’s team will face the Maldives in their next match on Friday and the hosts Bangladesh on Saturday. Nepal’s last match is against Uzbekistan.
