GRESIK ,INDOENSIA to host 2023 AVC Challenge Cup for Women from June 18 to 25

 

A total of 12 teams confirmed their participation in the 2023 AVC Challenge Cup for Women from June 18 to 25 in Gresik, East Java, Indonesia, the crucial tournament to qualify only one team to represent Asia in the FIVB Women’s Challenger Cup, which acts as a qualifier for the FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League.

Ahead of the drawing of lots, Mr Shanrit informed the representatives of participating teams that the AVC Challenge Cup for both men and women will be held annually, giving Asian teams an opportunity to accumulate world ranking points and improve their world rankings. If this AVC Challenge Cup and the Asian Senior Volleyball Championship take place in the same year, participating teams will stand a chance of accumulating their world ranking points twice.

Following the results of the drawing of lots, organisers Indonesia are in Pool A with Macao and Philippines, while Hong Kong China, which captured their maiden Asian Women’s Challenge Cup title at the last year’s edition in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, are in Pool B with Chinese Taipei and Iran. Pool C comprises India, Australia and Kazakhstan, with Uzbekistan, Mongolia and Vietnam in Pool D. Hosts Indonesia are due to take on Macao in their opening match on June 18.

India to host FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship in 2023 and 2024

 

India will host the Volleyball Club World Championship 2023 from December 6 and 10 this year, the global governing body of volleyball (FIVB) announced on Tuesday. The 2024 edition will also be held in India.

The host cities and format for both editions will be decided later.

It will be the first time that the Volleyball Club World Championship, running since 1989, will be held in India. As a host nation, India will be able to field the winners of the Prime Volleyball League, the top volleyball competition in the country, at the Volleyball Club World Championship.

“The best athletes from around the world will come down to India to showcase their talent and our Indian players will get a chance to compete against them. This is in line with our mission to help the Indian volleyball team qualify for the 2028 Olympics,” Tuhin Mishra, co-promoter of the Prime Volleyball League, said. 

Italian club Trentino, with five titles, is the most successful team in the competition.  Sada Cruzeiro from Brazil has won the club world championships four times.

Qatar’s Al Rayyan finished runners-up in 2014. It remains Asia’s best finish in the competition.The qualified teams and final schedule for the Volleyball Club World Championship 2023 will be announced later.

PRIME VOLLEYBALL LEAGUE: Ahmedabad Defenders win thriller against Bengaluru Torpedoes to clinch trophy

 

Ahmedabad Defenders clinched the trophy in the second season of RuPay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23 with a 15-7, 15-10, 18-20, 13-15, 15-10 win over the Bengaluru Torpedoes at the Regional Sports Centre, Kochi on Sunday. Angamuthu was named the player of the match for his dominating show.

LM Manoj and Nandhagopal combined early on to put blocks on Bengaluru's attacks. As Ibin and Pankaj got involved in attacks, the Torpedoes showed they are here to fight. But with incessant attacks from Angamuthu, the Defenders maintained their composure. As skipper Muthusamy Appavu began setting up Danial and Manoj, Ahmedabad drew block errors from the Torpedoes and picked up a hefty lead.

With service pressure building, the Torpedoes struggled to run their attacking plays from the middle. Ahmedabad's in-form defence tackled well with Bengaluru's attack, while Angamuthu and Santhosh dismantled the Torpedoes' momentum.

Just when it looked like Ahmedabad will run with the game, Sethu's magic from the service line brought Bengaluru back into the business. Danial almost ended the show with his powerful spikes. But Bengaluru held themselves on, drawing errors from Ahmedabad.

Abalooch tried to use his height to bully Santhosh, but the dual block line of Santhosh and Manoj kept making crucial blocks for Ahmedabad. But with a block on Mujeeb and a magical super-serve, the Torpedoes truly brought the contest back to level pegging and pushed the match to the fifth set.

The battle between the middle Danial and Jishnu raged on in the final set. A clever block from Abalooch brought Bengaluru back into the see-saw battle. Angamuthu's spikes kept testing the Torpedoes' defence. A soft super-serve from Santhosh ended the contest and the Defenders closed out the final set to clinch the trophy.

The RuPay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23 will be telecast LIVE on Sony Sports Ten 1 (English), Sony Sports Ten 3 (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 (Tamil & Telugu) & Sony Sports Ten 2 (Malayalam) channels in India and will be streamed on Volleyball World TV outside the Indian subcontinent, starting February 4, Saturday.

INDIA’S PRIME VOLLEYBALL LEAGUE SEMIFINAL LINEUP COMPLETE

Kolkata, Calicut and Bengaluru join Ahmedabad into the last four in India

Just one game away from the end of India’s RuPay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23 regular season, the list of semifinalists was finalized. The results of the three matches played so far this week at the Regional Sports Centre (Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium) in Kochi pointed to Kolkata Thunderbolts, Calicut Heroes and Bengaluru Torpedoes as the three teams to join Ahmedabad Defenders, who qualified last week, among the best four of the second season.

Watch the Prime Volleyball League on VBTV!

Any win over Chennai Blitz on Monday would have booked Kolkata’s spot in the semifinals. The defending 2022 champions were quick to secure their success in the first three sets of the match and went on to shape up a 4-1 (15-12, 15-9, 15-14, 15-13, 10-15) victory, their fifth in six matches, and improve to 10 points in second place of the standings. Opposite Vinit Kumar was named Player of the Match after leading Thunderbolts’ scorers with 15 points, including two blocks. Chennai’s outside hitter Raman Kumar produced a match-high 16 points, including two blocks and two aces. Chennai finished the season bottom of the table on two points and a 1-6 win-loss record.

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In the week’s most important match, Calicut and Bengaluru went head to head on Tuesday. While Heroes needed to win two sets to advance, Torpedoes had to achieve a 4-1 win or better to book their ticket to the semifinals. Bengaluru won the first two sets, but then Calicut fought back to level the score and breathe easier in the fifth. Bengaluru’s 3-2 (15-11, 15-11, 13-15, 10-15, 15-14) victory was enough for them to overtake Hyderabad Black Hawks in the fourth place in the standings, but to celebrate as semifinalists, Torpedoes had to wait for the result of Wednesday’s game. Their opposite Ibin Jose, who hammered four serving points towards a total of 11 points in the match, earned the Player of the Match award, while his counterpart on Heroes’ side Jerome Vinith mastered the match high of 21 points. Both teams finished the regular season on eight points and a 4-2 win-loss record and were separated on set ratio with Calicut taking third place in the table.

Rookies Mumbai Meteors had a shot at pushing Bengaluru out of the way to take their place among the best four, but they needed a 5-0 whitewash in Wednesday’s game against third leg hosts Kochi Blue Spikers. The result of the very first set of the match, however, put an end to their hopes and set off the Bengaluru Torpedoes celebrations. Kochi went on to win the game by 4-1 (15-14, 15-11, 15-12, 12-15, 15-10) and finished the season on a high note in front of the home fans. Mumbai’s Cuban outside Hiroshi Centelles was the best scorer of the match with 12 points to his name, but the Player of the Match award went to Kochi’s outside Rohit Kumar. Both teams finished on a 2-5 win-loss record, but since one of Meteors’ victories was a 5-0 whitewash and brought them three points, they finished sixth on five points, leaving Blue Spikers in seventh on four.

Thursday’s closing match of the regular season will simply determine the order at the very top of the table. As both sides stand on a 5-1 win-loss record, the winners of the Ahmedabad v Kolkata clash, a remake of last year’s final, will top the final standings, while the losers will progress to the semis as runners-up

AVC RELEASES UPDATED 2021 COMPETITION CALENDAR WITH RESCHEDULED EVENTS

 

AVC, based on the decisions of the most recent AVC Board of Administration, has recently released a competition calendar for 2021.

According to the updated calendar, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand has replaced China as hosts for the 2021 AVC Beach Volleyball Continental Cup Semi-Finals between June 18 and 19 and Finals from June 25 to 27, with eventual winners in both men’s and women’s events qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

The AVC Continental Cup Semi-Finals and Finals had been originally scheduled on June 18-27, 2021 in Xiamen, China, but following the serious discussions about entry policy and control measures, the organisers, in a bubble concept, cannot provide any training in the 14-day quarantine period upon teams’ arrival and thus decided to withdraw as hosts for the AVC Continental Cup.

Aside from the AVC Beach Volleyball Continental Cup Semi-Finals and Finals, Nakhon Pathom also received a nod from the AVC BA to additionally host two major beach volleyball tournaments. They comprise the 3rd Asian U19 Beach Volleyball Championships, a qualification tournament for FIVB U19 Beach Volleyball World Championships, between July 3 and 6 and the 4th Asian U21 Beach Volleyball Championships, a qualification tournament for FIVB U21 Beach Volleyball World Championships, from July 12 to 15.

Meanwhile, the host country for the 2021 Asian Senior Beach Volleyball Championships will be decided later this year as Songkhla, Thailand, hosts for the traditional Samila Asian Beach Volleyball Tour as well as Asian Senior Beach Volleyball Championships for consecutive years, and Iran have recently announced their bids to organise the top-flight beach volleyball competition, while a bidding process for new candidates is also possible. The competition schedule either from August 17 to 21 or in November/December will be confirmed later.

Another traditional beach volleyball event has already been confirmed in Penghu, Chinese Taipei when the country has decided to host the 3rd AVC Beach Volleyball Tour Penghu Open in either late September or early October.

Regarding the volleyball event, AVC will organise four Championships this year comprising Asian Senior Women’s Championship, Asian Senior Men’s Championship, Asian Men’s Club Championship and Asian Women’s Club Championship.

The Philippines, which hosted the Asian Senior Women’s Championship twice in 1997 and 2017, received the AVC’s green light to organise the top-tier championship for the third time later this year. Earlier, the 21st edition had been set to take place in Jiangmen, China, but the country pulled out as hosts for some reasons.

The 21st Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship is due to be held in Subic and Clark, the Philippines from August 29 to September 5, 2021.

Meanwhile, Japan will host the Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship for the first time in 38 years. After making its debut efforts in organising the Asian meet in 1983 in Tokyo, where the host side captured their second gold in the biennial competition, Japan has already confirmed to host the 21st edition in Chiba between September 12 and 19, 2021.

The last two events will be held in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, with the 2021 Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship taking place from September 24 to October 1 and the 2021 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship being organised during October 6 and 13.

VOLLEYBALL WORLD ANNOUNCES HOSTS OF THE 2021 AND 2022 FIVB VOLLEYBALL CLUB WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

 

Volleyball World today announced that Guangzhou INFearless Investment Co Ltd from China will organise the 2021 and 2022 editions of the men’s and women’s FIVB Volleyball Club World Championships.

Guangzhou INFearless Investment Co Ltd will host both the men’s and women’s editions for the upcoming two years. The host cities and dates will be determined at a later stage with the 2021 event planned for the end of the year. The prestigious club competition, which was first held in 1989, will enter into its 16th and 17th editions in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

The 2019 men’s and women’s editions of the event were staged in Brazil and China respectively, with Italian clubs Lube Civitanova and Imoco Volley claiming gold, while the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic following the decision of the FIVB Board of Administration.

Guangzhou INFearless Investment Co Ltd has extensive experience and credentials as organisers and service providers of volleyball events, including both the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship and Chinese Volleyball Super League “All Star Match” in 2018 and 2019, VNL 2018 leg in Jiangmen, China as well as the Guangdong home matches of the Chinese Volleyball Super League.

FIVB RELEASES UPDATED BEACH VOLLEYBALL CALENDAR,U19 Beach Volleyball World Championships to be played between 24-28 March 2021

                

Further changes to the FIVB beach volleyball calendar were announced today following the evaluation and reassessment of its international events in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The FIVB has been regularly monitoring the global situation and, following discussions with the relevant National Federations and promoters, has decided on several revisions to the beach volleyball calendar. As always, the protection of the health and wellbeing of players, officials, and fans remains the FIVB’s top consideration in all decisions taken.

The FIVB and event organisers have mutually agreed to the following changes to the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour calendar:

• U19 Beach Volleyball World Championships scheduled for 10-15 November in Roi Et, Thailand – postponed to 24-28 March 2021
• Previously postponed 4-star event in Yangzhou, China – cancelled
• Previously postponed 1-star events in Satun, Thailand and Tuan Chau Island, Vietnam – cancelled
• 2-star event in Larnaka, Cyprus, originally scheduled for 18-20 September 2020 – cancelled

It is important to note that the age limit for the postponed U19 Beach Volleyball World Championships will remain the same as it was for the 2020 event. As such, participating athletes must be born on 1 January 2002 onwards.

The FIVB looks ahead with optimism to the return of beach volleyball action with several events already being held safely across Europe. Continued assessments are taking place in regards to health and safety protocols, international travel restrictions and policies.

The FIVB Ranking System has been frozen since 16 March 2020. The FIVB will continue to monitor all global travel restrictions and access to competitions ahead of every single World Tour stop. As the situation is constantly evolving, further announcements will be made in the coming weeks on the possible resumption of the Ranking System. This will depend on securing fair access for all eligible participants to events, and details will be communicated in the Event Regulations of each scheduled event.

In addition, the FIVB recently published its guidelines to help Continental Confederations and National Federations create a safe environment to restart beach volleyball activities, but only if permitted by local health and government authorities.

The FIVB has also launched the application process for the 2020/2021 calendar, including the FIVB U21 World Championships in 2021, and is aiming to feature as many 1 to 5-star events across the globe as possible. The revised terms and conditions for hosting FIVB World Tour events have also been communicated to all stakeholders and posted on the FIVB website.