Malé: The squad of Nepal’s U20 women’s volleyball team is excited to play in the CAVA U20 Women’s Volleyball Championship for the first time. The championship kicked off on July 18 and continues till July 23 in Malé, Maldives.
On July 18, four countries are competing and Nepal is playing against Sri Lanka, scheduled at 9:15 pm. Nepali players and coaches are excited to participate in their first-ever international championship.
Team captain Jenisha Bishwakarma says, “We are all excited; for the first time, we have travelled to a foreign country to play a match.”
First time in foreign
Kumar Rai and Arjun Ghimire are the coaches for the Nepali squad. Domestically, Rai coaches for New Diamond Club and Ghimire coaches for Everest School, Butwal. In a team of 12 players, six are from New Diamond Club and four from Everest School. Additionally, there is one player each from Tribhuvan Army Club and Nepal Police Club.
All 12 players of the Nepal U20 women’s volleyball team have experience playing senior-level domestic matches. “In my two decades of experience, this is the first time I have travelled abroad with a national team,” says head coach Kumar Rai. “We will give our best in this championship.”
Another coach of the national team, Arjun Ghimire, is equally excited. “This championship is a great opportunity for age-level players,” says Ghimire. “Such a championship will lead to even bigger matches in the future.”
Goal for gold
The women’s volleyball team of Nepal has been performing well at the senior level. Nepal has won the Central Zone title twice. Last year, during the CAVA Challenge Cup Women’s Volleyball held in Nepal, the team secured third place. In 2019, the senior team also won a silver medal in the South Asian Games held in Nepal.
“The achievements of the senior team have inspired the junior team,” says team captain Jenisha Bishwakarma. She further states, “We aim to win gold in this championship. We are well-prepared, and we have a good team combination. Our only aim is to win gold for Nepal.”
Nepal will play their first match on Thursday against Sri Lanka. Their second match is against Kyrgyzstan on Friday, and the third match is against the Maldives on Saturday.
Recently, the Nepal Volleyball Association, in collaboration with the Sahana Pradhan Memorial Foundation, organised the Sahana Pradhan Memorial U19 National Women and Men Volleyball Championship. Based on the performances in this championship, players were selected for the U20 squad.
