Situation was not favorable for Nepal to participate in the tournament, "Asian Volleyball Confederation Central Zone Senior Men's Volleyball Championship."
While its players were struggling to regain their composure after the worst earthquake to hit the country in about eighty years, the team, already at its weakest possible form even before the disaster, was clearly unprepared for any international tournament.The Nepali squad comprised mostly of players from the departmental teams, with the exception of Sanju Shah,.
Against all odds, Nepal finished fourth following its loss to Afghanistan in the semifinal. But judging by the performance, Nepal was expected to qualify for the final round of the competition by finishing among the top three.
Following the quake, players, who held different positions in their respective departmental sides, were deployed at numerous worst-hit areas for relief duties.
Some assisted in the rescue efforts to save lives while others carried goods for quake survivors and yet others worked to clear the rubbles. Having seen the havoc wreaked by the quake, the players were in an unstable physical and psychological wellbeing. At least four of the players had lost their homes.
Amid such a scenario, Nepal's participation was confirmed on the 11th hour, only after the host Bangladesh confirmed to bear all the costs for participation.
"Our participation will be limited to show solidarity. We are not expecting anything big. We will also be proving that Nepali people can surmount any kind of difficulty. "The team is exhausted. Coordination is not sound. There is no strategy," Nepal's volleyball coach Kapil Kishor Shrestha had told Republica before the tournament.
As expected, team Nepal, with its members bedecked in plain T-shirts, inscribed with a message "pray for Nepal" in red-attracted wide attention during the opening ceremony. Nepal's Vice-captain Sanjay Aryal, who spoke better English than others, gave interviews to numerous television and print media.
Questions from journalists revolved around the situation after the quake, devastation suffered by Nepali volleyball, preparation and expectation of the team.
"We lost our head coach Keshav Lal Shrestha and four of our players lost their houses. Our only covered hall has developed severe cracks," Sanjay told the media there.
Following its two matches, the participating teams even held Nepal as one of the favorite, including the host.
Nevertheless, lack of preparation and apparent physical tiredness cost Nepal dear. Though it did not qualify for the final round, the team returned with worthwhile experience.
"I am very proud about the performance of my team. This participation gave us some valid aspiration to work on. We can easily become one of the top teams in Central Asia. With decent preparation, we are capable enough to beat the Maldives and Afghanistan, or even Turkmenistan," said the proud coach Shrestha after the tournament.
Nepal kicked off its campaign with a dominant 3-1 win over Kyrgyzstan, the team that had clear physical and height advantage over Nepal. Then it gave a tough fight in its 3-1 defeat against the Maldives. It sent host Bangladesh crashing out of the tournament with a hard fought 3-2 win to reach the semifinals, before meekly bowing down to Turkmenistan 3-0 in the semifinal. Nepal concluded its campaign with a competitive 2-3 loss against Afghanistan.
All in all, Nepal showed promise in the tournament and gave away a performance beyond expectation.
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