Tournament favorite Sri Lanka, which had defeated the Maldives 3-1 in the round robin league, registered a 25-22, 25-19, 25-23 win in the final. Champion Sri Lanka bagged a purse of Rs 200,000 along with the winner´s trophy. Runner-up Maldives received Rs 100,000 and the runner-up trophy.[break]
Nepal took third position while Afghanistan finished bottom in the four-team tournament. The home team received a cash prize of Rs 50,000 and a trophy.
"We are very happy to win the title," said Sri Lankan coach MSK Wendakoon after his side´s title victory. "We knew we could win the title but the first and third sets were difficult." Wendakoon thanked and lauded Nepal Volleyball Association for organizing the tournament.
The Sri Lankan was also full of praise for the Nepali spectators. He said Nepal has a bright future in volleyball but it must win some international titles to win over the spectators.
Maldives put up a good fight until the middle of the first set and leveled the scores at 15 points. But the experienced and technically sound Sri Lankans earned five continuous points after that while Maldives won only one. Janitha of Sri Lanka then hit two superb spikes to take the first set 25-22.
In the second set, Sri Lanka won nine consecutive points to take the score to 18-7 from 9-7. Strong serves by skipper Mohamed Ishan and some brilliant spikes were the major contributors to Sri Lanka´s big lead. Maldives´ attempt to bounce back went in vain as the set ended 25-19.
In the third set, Maldives was neck and neck with Sri Lanka, but eventually surrendered to a 25-23 defeat.
Maldives coach Mohamad Sharaf, whose side has never defeated Sri Lanka, was gracious in defeat. "We should stand on facts and reality, and the reality is that Sri Lanka is a better side than us," said Sharaf. He also seconded the view of his Sri Lankan counterpart that such tournaments would be fruitful for South Asian volleyball.
Sri Lankan players dominated the best player awards taking home four of the six individual awards. Surath Janitha of the winning team was declared the player of the tournament and bagged US$ 200. Similarly, Keshala, Sameera and Sanjaya of the winning side won the best blocker, server and setter awards respectively. Maldives´ Junaid and Huzam were declared the best libero and spiker respectively. They were awarded Rs 5,000 each along with trophies.
Sri Lanka to host second edition
KATHMANDU (REPUBLICA): Sri Lanka will host the second edition of the South Asian Invitational Men´s Volleyball Championship next year, Sri Lanka coach MSK Wendakoon said on Monday. Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation´s General Secretary Susil Ranasinghe, who has accompanied the Sri Lankan team to Nepal, has signed an agreement with Nepal Volleyball Association to host the tournament. "Pakistan and India are the giants of the region but if we conduct such tournaments on a regular basis, we´ll be able to rise to their level," Wendakoon said.
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