LAHORE: Pakistan will host the six-nation Asian Central Zone Volleyball Tournament in April next year besides planning to hold the first Pakistan Volleyball League, Pakistan Volleyball Federation (PVF) chairman Chaudhry Mohammad Yaqoob announced here on Monday.

After chairing the executive committee meeting, Yaqoob said India will also be invited to play in the six-nation tournament and if their government does permit then they will be replaced with another country.

Yaqoob said the PVF would also try its level best to convince foreign players to come to Pakistan to play in the Pakistan Volleyball League, which the federation plans to introduce soon after the end of the six-nation zonal tournament. He said according to the plans, the league matches will be held in Lahore, Sialkot, Peshawar and Islamabad.

Yaqoob expressed his satisfaction over the performance of the Pakistan team in the recently concluded Asian Games in Jakarta and termed the victories against strong Indian and Chinese sides as a positive sign towards the development of the national team.

He said soon the national team would be in a position to get places at the podium in the Asian events. He said the Wapda team had also excelled in the Asian Club Championship claiming a bronze medal, which was also a good sign.

Yaqoob added the National Women’s Volleyball Championship is set to be held in Peshawar this week, while Azad Kashmir would host the national men’s event in the first week of November.

He said the Pakistan U-18 and U-20 teams were also in a position to claim success at the international level, adding the federation was also focusing on honing the skills of its technical officials to prepare them to raise good players.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2018

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