ISLAMABAD, Apr 11 (APP): Pakistan team will participate in the first edition of the Asian Men’s U-16 Volleyball Championship, scheduled to be held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from July 22 to 29.
The event serves as the Asian qualification tournament and the top three sides will make a cut to the next year’s FIVB Volleyball Men’s U-17 World Championship.
“Our training camp for preparation for the championship is underway at Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) coaching centre Peshawar,” Secretary Pakistan Volleyball Federation (PVF) Shah Naeem Zafar told APP on Tuesday.
According to Naeem, the PVF wanted the players to keep on getting training at the camp till the commencement of the championship but it depends on the provision of funds by the PSB. “Scarcity of funds is a big issue. We’ve highly talented youngsters, who are capable to win the title. But they need continuous coaching and training,” he added.
“We have a very strong senior team but recently they were handed a 3-0 defeat by these young guns [U16 team] at POF Wah. This shows that in the next few years, they’ll form a really formidable national side.
“They all are above 6 feet and four-inch height. We’ve selected them from all over the country through a talent hunt programme. There are our two years of hard work to form such a strong outfit,” he added.
Kazakhstan, Hong Kong and hosts Uzbekistan are in Pool A in the championship, while Pool B comprises Bahrain, India, Thailand and Australia. Pool C features Saudi Arabia, Iran, Japan and China, whereas Pakistan, Kuwait Mongolia and Chinese Taipei from Pool D.