Nepal’s national women’s volleyball team is participating in the CAVA Women’s Volleyball Nations League on their home court. Along with Nepal, the other participating nations are Sri Lanka, Maldives, Iran, and India.
The league will begin from August 1 to 7.
Nepal and Sri Lanka will play the opening match in the covered hall of Dasarath Rangasala on August 1. Aarati Subedi and Sumitra Regmi of Nepal are the new players on the team. On July 21 and 22, as preparation for CAVA, Nepal played a friendly match against Russia where Subedi and Regmi made their debut.
The head coach of Nepal is Jagdish Bhatta, the assistant coach is Bharat Yadav, and the team manager is Nilam Bajracharya.
Jagdish Bhatta, Head coach
Bhatta has been coaching Nepal’s national women’s team since 2013. In the last 11 years, he has led the Nepali team to win two titles.
In 2019 and 2021, during CAVA, which was held in Bangladesh, Nepal won gold medals. Earlier, he was a national player of Nepal.
Aruna Shahi, captain (setter)
Aruna Shahi debuted in 2014 during a friendly match against the Maldives. In 2019, Shahi became the captain of the national team.
Under the captainship of 30-year-old Shahi, Nepal won the title of CAVA in 2019 and 2021.
Saraswati Chaudhary, open spiker
Saraswati Chaudhary, 28, of Kailali, Dhangadi, is the tallest player on the Nepali team at 183 cm tall. Chaudhary debuted against Sri Lanka in 2014 during the first South Asian Invitational Volleyball Tournament. Except for injuries, she has been playing for Nepal regularly.
Usha Bhandari, open spiker
20-year-old Usha Bhandari of Tanahun started playing volleyball in her school days. From her initial days, she has been playing for Nepal Police Club. In 2019, during the South Asian Games, she debuted for the national team.
Punam Chand, open spiker
Punam Chand, 23, of Kanchanpur, Mahendranagar, made her debut for the national team in 2019 during the South Asian Games. Chand played for the Nepali team when they won the title of Central Zone Volleyball in 2019. Due to her excellent performance in the 8th National Games, she was selected for the national team.
Niruta Thagunna, open spiker
Niruta Thagunna, 26, of Darchula, started playing national-level volleyball in 2019. For three years, she played for Tribhuvan Club in domestic volleyball competitions. Currently, she plays for APF Club. Thagunna played for the Nepali team when they won the title of Central Zone Volleyball in 2019.
Safiya Pun, mid-blocker
28-year-old Safiya Pun of Baglung plays for Tribhuvan Army Club. In 2019, during the South Asian Games, she debuted for the national team. Due to her performance in the Tribhuvan Army Club, she was selected for the national team.
Sumitra Regmi, mid-blocker
Regmi, who debuted in the national team during the friendly match against Russia, plays for New Diamond Club in domestic volleyball. The 23-year-old, who is 6ft 1 inch tall, got selected for the national team after playing in domestic volleyball for two years.
Sangam Mahato, mid-blocker
Sangam Mahato, 23, of Chitwan, debuted in the national team during the CAVA Women’s Challenge Cup, which was held in Nepal. Mahato plays as a spiker in the Tribhuvan Army Club, whereas for the national team, she is a mid-blocker. She is well known for her blocking and serving skills.
Kamana Bista, spiker
Kamana Bista, 24, a native of Jajarkot, debuted in the national team in 2021 during the Central Zone Volleyball. Bista, who plays for Nepal Police Club in domestic volleyball, did not participate in any matches for the last year due to an injury. She had an injury to her hip bone and leg.
Pragati Nath, setter
Pragati Nath of Rukum started playing volleyball at the age of 14. She started her volleyball career at New Diamond Academy. Earlier, Nath played as a spiker. After Aruna Shahi stopped playing for New Diamond Academy, Nath got a chance to play as a setter.
Aarati Subedi, spiker
After playing in domestic volleyball for five years, Aarati Subedi of Chitwan got selected for the national team. For three years, she played for APF Club and then joined Chitwan Tigers. The 5ft 10-inch tall Subedi debuted in the national team during the recently held friendly match against Russia.
Kabita Bhatta, mid-blocker
Kabita Bhatta of Dadeldhura debuted in the national team during the last edition of CAVA. Bhatta currently plays for APF Club in domestic volleyball; before that, she played for Tribhuvan Army Club.
Salina Shrestha, libero
Salina Shrestha is the first-choice libero of the national team. The 26-year-old Shrestha plays for New Diamond Club in domestic volleyball. Shrestha debuted in the national team in 2019 during the Central Zone Volleyball. She is well known for her receiving skills.
Shantikala Tamang, libero
Shantikala Tamang of Khotang debuted in the national team in last year’s CAVA Women’s Cup, which was held in Nepal. The 29-year-old Tamang plays as a libero for the Nepal Police Club in domestic volleyball.
