Islamabad, Pakistan, January 26, 2009 – Hosts and favourites Pakistan, Bangladesh, Maldives and Macau will battle for two second-round tickets available in the 2010 Men's FIVB World Championship first-round Pool B Asia tournament in Islamabad that begins Wednesday at the Liaquat Gymnasium.
Pakistan are tipped to finish first in the three-day round-robin event. In the past few years, Pakistan have not lost to the other three teams in regional tournaments.
Pakistan defeated Maldives at the 2007 Asian Senior Volleyball Championship in straight sets, finishing 13th, ahead of the 16th-placed Maldives. In the second AVC Central Zone Championship, Pakistan beat Maldives again, 3-0. At the 2006 South Asian Games, Pakistan crushed Bangladesh 3-0 and finished third. And at the 2007 Second Commonwealth Volleyball Championship, Pakistan won the bronze medal while Bangladesh placed seventh.
Pakistan Head Coach Ali Reza said, “Our team is a young team but we will try our best to win first place. What we are now thinking is about how to play in the second and third rounds.
"I, as a foreign coach, have found a lot of talent for Volleyball here, and with a good programme in the near future you will see big progress by the Pakistan Volleyball team in Asia and at the world level," said the Iranian.
“The Pakistan team is a young team with an average age of 23 and an average height of 197 cm and we are following a four-year programme of the Pakistan Volleyball Federation until 2012.”
A tough battle for the second spot is expected to take place between Maldives and Bangladesh, with the latter thought to have a marginally better chance of progressing. The top two will advance to the second round Pool E from June 9 to 11 in Thailand, where they are going to compete against the hosts and India, who join the second round directly, for a third-round berth.
Bangladesh Head Coach Mohammad Sohel is optimistic about their chances. He said, “Pakistan is very strong team in the subcontinent and play regional Volleyball on a regular basis and therefore have more exposure. If our boys can keep their cool we should come in second place and qualify for the second round.”
Bangladesh will play against Maldives in the tournament’s first match before hosts Pakistan play Macau. The hosts will then first face Bangladesh and then Maldives.
Two hundred and fifteen national teams are competing for a place in the 2010 FIVB Men’s and Women’s World Championship finals in Italy and Japan, with 68 tournaments and three preliminary rounds before the grand finale. The 2010 men’s finals will be held in Italy from September 23 to October 10 and the women's finals in Japan from October 29 to November 14.
There are 22 tickets at stake worldwide for the men’s final round, with the hosts plus reigning champions Brazil already qualified.
There are three rounds scheduled for the men’s tournaments in Asia. In the first round there are three pools. Pool A consists of Tonga, Samoa, New Zealand and Fuji, while Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Oman and Saudi Arabia are in Pool C. The top team in Pool A and the top three from Pool C will enter the second round together with the top two from Pool B.
Pakistan Volleyball Federation President Chaudhry Yaqoob, in a press conference with PVF secretary Muhammad Afzal and Iranian coach Ali Reza Moameri, explained that the foreign teams were set to arrive on Monday, January 26. The president said Pakistan had worked hard to ensure a successful event.
Federal Minister for Sports Pir Aftab Shah Jilani will be the chief guest of the tournament opening ceremony.
Asian Pool B match schedule (all local times)
Day 1 (January 28)
Maldives vs. Bangladesh, 15:00
Pakistan vs. Macau, 17:00
Day 2 (January 29)
Macau vs. Maldives, 15:00
Pakistan vs. Bangladesh, 16:30
Day 3 (January 30)
Bangladesh vs. Macau, 15:00
Pakistan vs. Maldives, 16:30
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