Bangladesh emerged unbeaten champions in the Bangabandhu Asian Central Zone U-23 Men's Int'l Volleyball Championship beating Kyrgyzstan by 3-2 set in the final held today (Dec 26) at Shaheed Suhrawardy Indoor Stadium in the city's Mirpur.
In the day's keenly contested final, Bangladesh won the first set by 25-18 points but lost the second and third sets by 15-25 and 22-25 points respectively.
Bangladesh, however, staged a brilliant fightback to win the fourth set by 25-19 points and finally snatched the victory by winning the fifth set by 18-16 points to taste the first-ever title of the championship.
Sheikh Ismail Hossain of Bangladesh has adjudged the best player in the final while Al Amin of the same team was named the best setter.
Zianbek Ulu of Kyrgyzstan received the man of the tournament award for his impressive performance throughout the tournament.
Bangladesh Olympic Association's (BOA) president and Chief of Army Staff General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed, SBP, OSP, NDU, PSC, PHD was the chief guest in the final and distributed the prizes.
Speaking as the chief guest in the prize distribution ceremony said Army Chief General SM Shafiuddin Ahmed said: "It's very hard to organize an int'l event now a day though the volleyball federation has shown their capability by organising the championship. Thanks to the federation for organizing the tournament. The victory day is the month of glory and I congratulated the players for winning the trophy this month."
The army chief also thanked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for taking the country forward and giving equal importance to sports.
Both the teams played fantastic matches in the final and a special thank deserve to the Bangladesh team, he added.
Bangladesh Volleyball Federation's president Atiqul Islam said: "There is no alternative to sports to build a drug-free society and young society should carry sports along with education.
Earlier, Sri Lanka finished the third position in the Championship as they came from behind and beat Nepal by 3-2 set in the place-decoding match also held today (Monday) at the same venue.
Sri Lanka lost the first set by 22-25 points, but Sri Lanka bounced back to win the second and third sets by 25-19 points and 25-19 points respectively.
Nepal fought back to beat Sri Lanka by 25-20 points in the fourth set, but Sri Lanka sealed the victory by winning the fifth set by 15-10 points.
Kaviska of Sri Lanka was named the best player of the match for his impressive performance.
Apart from hosting Bangladesh, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, and Sri Lanka took part in the tournament.
BDST: 2042 HRS, Dec 26, 2022
MSK
