CAVA Women’s Volleyball Championship:
Iran off to flyer with Bangladesh rout
Iran got off to an emphatic start to its CAVA Women’s Volleyball Championship title defense on Friday, hammering Bangladesh in straight sets (25-6, 25-9, 25-10) in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Iranian opposite Sepinood Dastbarjan was named Player of the Match following a standout display that excelled in every department of the game.
Iran will resume action against Sri Lanka in Pool B on Sunday, before facing Kazakhstan in its final group game the following day.
The host team, Nepal, is joined by India, Maldives and Kyrgyzstan in Pool A.
Iran celebrated a historic feat in last year’s CAVA event in Tashkent, capturing its maiden international women’s volleyball gold since the first national team was established in 1963, thanks to a straight-set victory over host Uzbekistan in the final.
This year’s event is the first in a congested international calendar for Iranian women, who took part in a 20-day training camp at the FIVB facilities in Bangkok before the CAVA tournament amid the wartime circumstances in their home country.
Iran is also set to feature at the AVC Women’s Nations Cup – starting June 6 in Candon, Philippines – where South Korean head coach Lee Do-hee’s side has been drawn against defending champion Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Lebanon in Pool B.
The major showpiece for the Iranian women will come at September’s Aichi–Nagoya Asian Games in Japan, where the country will make its first women’s volleyball appearance at the multi-sport event since the 1974 edition on home soil.