Maldives men’s national team has traveled to the semifinals of the AVC Asian Senior Men’s Central Zone Volleyball Championship 2019, after beating host nation Nepal in three straight sets.
Both teams showed a strong performance in the first two sets, however Maldives took the first set 25 to 22.
While Nepal took the lead in the beginning of the set, Maldives overturned the score and won the set 25 to 21.
The third set was an easy one for the Maldives team, which took the set 25 to 14.
Speaking after the match, coach Mohamed Sajid said that they are ecstatic over the win “especially as it was in front of thousands of Nepalese supporters.”
Further noting that the team is in top form, Sajid expressed confidence that they will continue to show a strong performance throughout.
Captain Ali Huzam said that they went to Nepal “with a target” and that Wednesday’s match showed the player’s demand to reach it.
Prior to departing for the AVC championship, the Maldives team played two friendly games with the Sri Lankan national team.
The men’s team participated in the Indian Ocean Island Games (IOIG) 2019, but was not able to win any games. Before IOIG 2019, the team trained in Serbia.
Maldives is in Group A with Nepal and Kyrgyzstan. The team lost to Kyrgyzstan on Monday, also in three straight sets. Nepal lost against both teams.
Group B comprises of Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Uzbekistan is on the top spot of the group after winning all its matches.
After the group plays, top two teams from Group A and Group B will contest the cross semi-finals.
