Bangladesh Aims for Its First Asian Volleyball Victory

In the 2018 Asian Senior Men's Volleyball Championship, Bangladesh will aim to end a three-decade absence from the premier continental volleyball championship.

Bangladesh will compete against South Korea and Pakistan in Group F of the 18-team event, which gives ranking points, from August 19 to August 26 in Urmia, Iran.

After spending a month preparing in Bangladesh, Bangladesh has been practicing in Iran for the past month under the direction of Iranian coach Ali Pour Aroji. In an effort to perform well in Asia's top-tier tournament, the men in red and green have played a series of practice matches against Iran's U-23 national team and a few Iranian clubs.

"Preparation here has been good as there are very good facilities available. We have travelled a lot to play some practice matches. Everyone is in good shape. So we are hoping to produce good results in the championship," captain Horosit Biswas told from Iran yesterday.

"Except for myself and Masudul Islam, the squad is full of junior players, who have been performing really well in the practice matches," added Horosit.

In the Bangabandhu Asian Senior Men's Central Zone International Volleyball Championship in Dhaka, where they defeated Kyrgyzstan to win the title, Bangladesh made its international volleyball debut.

The guys in red and green have placed second a few times since failing to successfully defend their championship.

After a tense 3-2 sets victory against four-time winners China in Bahrain in 2022, the Bangladesh young squad achieved their best-ever performance in the Asian Men's U-20 Volleyball Championship with a fifth-place finish. The senior squad has been granted the chance to play in the Asian Men's Championship for the first time in 30 years due to Bangladesh's consistent improvement at the international level and growing capacity to host international competitions.