By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu – Members of the national women’s volleyball team of Nepal Usha Bhandari and Kamana Bista are all set to play volleyball league in the Maldives.
This is the first time that the two players who also represent Nepal Police Club in domestic tournament of Nepal will be playing in a foreign league. The spikers duo will compete in the Maldives Volleyball Association Cup 2022 to be held from May 19 to 31.
Both of them have already left for Male, the capital of Maldives, on Tuesday itself.
Usha Bhandari, who is a vital member of the national team, will represent Maldives National Defense Force in the league while Kamana Bista will play for Maldives Service Club (Police).
All arrangements for the two players will be managed by their respective clubs. Besides air tickets and lodging and fooding facilities, the two players will receive US$ 800 for competing in the league.
Both the players left for the Maldives after taking permission from their clubs and Nepal Volleyball Association, says Bharat Shah, a member of Nepal Volleyball Association and manager of Nepal Police Club.
Usha and Kamana got an opportunity to play in the Maldives at the initiative of former national volleyball player Kopila Upreti, who is currently the assistant coach of Nepal Police Club. Upreti has featured in the Maldivian league for 7 times between 2015 and 2017.
She says that it is a matter of pride and happiness for Nepali players to feature in the Maldivian league. According to her, most of the players in the Maldivian league are from Sri Lanka and Thailand. Some teams are making attempts to sign players from Uzbekistan and Iran. A total of 10 teams will be competing in the league.
Other Nepali players who have already played in the Maldivian league include Manju Gurung, Kopila Upreti, Neema Shrestha, Pratibha Mali, Saraswati Chaudhary and Aruna Shahi.
