CAVA Women’s Volleyball Championship:
Iran’s golden girls defeat Kazakhstan to defend title
Iran secured back-to-back crowns at the CAVA Women’s Volleyball Championship thanks to a 3-1 (25-18, 19-25, 25-15, 25-21) victory over Kazakhstan in Friday’s final showpiece at the NSC Indoor Hall in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Outside-hitter Fatemeh Khalili, who went on to pick up the tournament’s Most Valuable Player prize for the second year in a row, led the scoring for Iran with 15 points, while opposite spiker Elaheh Poursaleh (14) and middle blocker Reihaneh Karimi (11) also finished in double figures as Iran capped off the event with a perfect 5-0 record, moving up to 41st in the latest FIVB Women’s Rankings – eighth in Asia.
Kazakhstan’s Tatyana Yatskiv, meanwhile, chipped in a game-high 17 points, with Kristina Belova and Zhanna Syroyeshkina adding 14 and 11, respectively.
Stepping into the tournament on the back of a historic feat in the previous edition – which delivered Iran’s maiden international gold medal since the women’s national team program was launched in 1963 – South Korean head coach Lee Do-hee’s team dominated in Kathmandu, routing Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Kazakhstan to top the pool table before beating the host in the semifinals, not conceding a single set in the process.
Iran’s dominance was further reflected in the individual awards, as Khalili was also named the Best Outside Hitter – alongside Kazakhstan’s Kristina Belova – while Poursaleh and team captain Shabnam Alikhani received the Best Opposite and Setter prizes, respectively. India’s Shilpa Rajendran Nair Sindhu and Kazakhstan’s Yuliya Fomenko were selected as the Best Middle Blockers, while India’s Sathi Das earned Best Libero honors.
Earlier in the day, India beat Nepal 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 15-25, 25-22) to finish with the bronze medal, with the host nation, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Bangladesh in the following spots.
The Iranian girls, who have been away from the country since April 21 for an unprecedented preparatory program ahead of a congested international calendar, will look to build on the CAVA glory when they get their Pool B campaign underway at the AVC Women’s Nations Cup against Indonesia in Candon, Philippines, on Saturday.
Iran played Indonesia twice in last year’s edition, winning a five-set thriller in the pool phase but suffering a 3-1 setback in the classification match to settle for a sixth-place finish. Lee’s side will follow the opener with games against Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, and defending champion Vietnam, before taking on Lebanon on the final day of the group stage on June 12. The top two in the group table will progress to the semifinals, with the final showpiece to be staged at the Candon City Arena on June 14.