Bangladesh in Group A in Bangabandhu volleyball

FT ONLINE

There was some sigh of relief as defending champions Bangladesh were drawn in Group A with Maldives and Nepal in the upcoming Bangabandhu Asian Senior Men's Central Zone International Volleyball Championship, scheduled to start in Dhaka from Saturday.

Six teams split into two groups will take part in the tournament with the Group B comprising three Central Asian countries-Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

The seven-day tournament will begin with the match between hosts Bangladesh and Nepal at the Shaheed Suhrawardi Indoor Stadium with the final scheduled on April 27.

Bangladesh national team took a three-week long preparation for the tournament in Iran under the supervision of Iranian experienced coach Ali Pour Aroji before returning home on April 8.

During the preparation camp in Tehran, the 18-member squad played six exhibition matches against different Iranian club sides, including a Super League side, winning four of them and losing the others.

Aroji believed his charges have the ability to defend the title that they won under his guidance two years ago despite the presence of some strong teams from Central Asia in the tournament.