INDIA CROWNED CAVA WOMEN’S NATIONS LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

India stunned hosts Nepal in well-fought five sets in the spectacular final showdown on Wednesday to stamp their domination over the CAVA Women’s Volleyball Nations League at National Sports Council Covered Hall here.

The magnificent come-from-behind 3-2 (23-25, 25-14, 22-25, 25-21,15-5) win in front of boisterous crowd of 4,000 Nepalese fans handed India the second title at the same competition site.

Earlier in May, the Indians had already captured the Women’s Volleyball Challenge Cup following their 3-0 demolition of Kazakhstan in the showdown here.

India, Iran, Maldives, Sri Lanka and hosts Nepal participated in the single round-robin tournament from August 1 to 7, vying for top honour in the CAVA Women’s Nations League.  En route to winning the title, India finished on top of the five-team standing with 10 points from three wins against a single loss to Nepal in the single round-robin preliminaries, while the semifinals saw India cruise to sensational 3-0 win against Sri Lanka and Nepal, which captured the AVC Central Zone Championship twice in 2019 and 2021, also in dominant form to beat Iran 3-0.

Meanwhile, in the third place playoff clash, Iran put it past the determined Sri Lanka 3-0 (25-22, 28-26, 25-17) to pick up bronze medal.

The award presentations and closing ceremony followed immediately after the showdown, with invited dignitaries including Mr Mohammed Latheef, President of the Central Asian Volleyball Association (CAVA) and the Volleyball Association of Maldives, and Mr Jitendra Bahadur Chand, President of Nepal Volleyball Association, presenting the medals and the Champions Trophy.

India were crowned champions, while Nepal and Iran came in second and third places respectively. Sri Lanka returned with the fourth place and Maldives finished on the bottom fifth position.

India

Nepal

Iran

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

Most Valuable Player: No. 4 Shaalini Saravanan (India)

Best Outside Hitters

No. 77 Masoumeh Ghadami Tabaghdehi (Iran) and No. 4 Shaalini Saravanan (India)

Best Middle Blockers

No. 6 Sooriya Saraswathy (India) and No. 15 Mobina Sadat Ghafarianambarani (Iran)

Best Opposite Player: No. 3 Sarswoti Chaudhary (Nepal)

Best Setter: No. 17 Juhi Shaw (India)

Best Libero: No. 18 Salina Shrestha (Nepal)

FINAL RANKINGS

1. India

2. Nepal

3. Iran

4. Sri Lanka

5. Maldives