The Vietnam Volleyball Federation and the Asian Volleyball Confederation on March 25 held a draw for the Asian Women’s Volleyball Championships 2009, host by Vietnam from September 5-13 in Hanoi.

This tournament will attract 16 teams from China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Kazakhstan, Iran, Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan. Among these teams, Afghanistan and Maldives are the newcomers.

There will be a total of 60 matches, four matches per day, from 2.30 to 10.30pm, at some sports houses including Quan Ngua and Gia Lam. The organising board will book two hotels to serve guests.

According to draw results, there will be four groups. Vietnam will be in group A with Australia, Iran, and Sri Lanka. Experts say that this is an “easy” group for Vietnam because the team currently ranks 7th in the Asian Volleyball Confederation, one grade above Australia.

Vietnam and Australia are considered the two big rivals in this tournament. The match between the two teams will open the event.

The Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Volleyball Federation, Tran Duc Phan, said the women’s national volleyball team will group up from May 1-5 at the National Sports Training Centre 1 in Hanoi.

The organisers will present first, second and third prize for the three top teams and eight prizes for outstanding individuals. The four best teams will participate in the world women’s volleyball championship in Japan this October.

The tournament will be aired live on VTC1, 2, 3 and 5 channels. The event will be also broadcast in some Asian countries.

VietNamNet/ANTD