KYRGYSTAN, SRI LANKA WILL FIGHT FOR fifth PLACE IN CAVA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHALLENGE CUP

KYRGYSTAN, SRI LANKA WILL FIGHT FOR fifth PLACE IN CAVA WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL CHALLENGE CUP

Kyrgyzstan overtook the Maldives in straight sets while Sri Lanka defeated Bangladesh after failing to play in the 5-8 placement round for the Central Asian Volleyball Association (CAVA) Women’s Volleyball Challenge Cup at the NSC Covered Hall in Kathmandu, Nepal on Thursday.

Kyrgyzstan already took their first victory in the week-long tournament after a comfortable straight-sets victory over Bangladesh on Wednesday and ended the campaign in the round-robin qualifiers, finishing third in Group A.

Competing on Thursday for places 5-8 in the playoffs against the fourth-placed Maldives in Group B, Kyrgyzstan relied on powerful tackles by Kumarbekova, who scored 11 points for the team in the previous game against Bangladesh.

Despite a strong challenge from the Maldives, Kumarbekova teamed up with Kadyrova, Alizhan Kyzy, Rasulbek Kyzy and Mamatzhan Kyzy to help Kyrgyzstan take an impressive 25-20, 25-20, 25-15 straight set victory.

Kumarbekova remained the team’s main force with 11 points for Kyrgyzstan. Kadyrova added 9 points while Alizhan Kyzy, Rasulbek Kyzy and Mamatzhan Kyzy kept good company with 8 points each for the winning team. Hawwa led the Maldives with 10 points.

In the second game, Sri Lanka, who had already tasted their first tournament victory after beating the Maldives in group play, defeated Bangladesh in an easy match 25-16, 25-15, 25-7 on Thursday.

Thilini, who led Sri Lanka with 14 points in the previous game against the Maldives, remained the team’s top scorer with 13 points. No Bangladeshi player has scored double figures in this match. Sabina scored only 5 points in the losing team.

After comfortable victories on Thursday, Kyrgyzstan and Sri Lanka will face off on Saturday, May 27 for 5th place. Two undefeated teams, the Maldives and Bangladesh, will face off in the 7th-8th place play-offs on the same day.

Meanwhile, India will take on Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan will face hosts Nepal in the highly anticipated semi-finals on Friday, May 26. The two winning teams will face off in the final matchup on Sunday, May 28. the losers compete on the same day for the bronze medal.