Hosts Bangladesh launched their campaign to win the CAVA (Central Asian Volleyball Association) Cup with an emphatic 3-0 victory over the Maldives on the opening day at the Suhrawardi Indoor Stadium in Mirpur on Wednesday.
Bangladesh, one of six participating nations in the round-robin tournament, initially faced a challenge from the islanders before securing the first game 25-21. They then comfortably won the second set 25-13.
The Maldives mounted further resistance in the third game, but Horosit and his teammates held firm. They denied the visitors any opportunity to bounce back, ultimately inflicting a 25-21 defeat to ensure a winning start to the competition. Bangladesh are scheduled to play their next match against Nepal on Thursday.
In other opening-day fixtures, Turkmenistan also registered a straight 3-0 win over Nepal. The most thrilling contest of the day saw Sri Lanka record a narrow 3-2 victory against Afghanistan. Afghanistan recovered to win the second and third games after dropping the first, but Sri Lanka took control to claim the fourth and fifth sets and secure the overall win.
Earlier, the tournament was formally inaugurated by the secretary for the Youth and Sports Ministry, Mahabub-Ul-Alam, who attended as the chief guest. He was joined by several dignitaries, including the ministry’s additional secretary Selim Fakir, National Sports Council executive director Kazi Nazrul Islam, and Bangladesh Volleyball Federation president Farque Hasan.
