AVC Olympic Qualification Tournament starts today – Beach Volleyball news
This is for the first time in the history of Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation (SLV) that the important beach volleyball competition of Central Asian countries is about to take centre stage in Sri Lanka.
The Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Beach Volleyball Continental Cup 2012 is scheduled to start today (Saturday, January 21) at the Negombo beach in Sri Lanka. The two-day beach volleyball tournament will feature both men’s and women’s competitions.
Top beach volleyball tandems from Iran, Kazakhstan, India, Maldives, and host Sri Lanka will be on board to contest their game skills on the sandy court. This tournament has extreme significance as it will also act as a qualification tournament for upcoming
Olympic Games in London, this year.
The 2012 London Olympics will have a total of 48 women’s and men’s teams (24 per gender). Three successful teams of the 2012 AVC Beach Volleyball Continental Cup in Sri Lanka will advance to the finals of the Asian Continental Cup. The men’s teams from Thailand,
Indonesia, and Vietnam have already qualified for the finals of Asian Continental Cup via AVC South Eastern Zone Tournament. Likewise, the duos from Oman, Bahrain and Qatar have also secured slots in the final stage through their respective zonal tournament.
In the women’s sections, teams from Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia of South Eastern Zone, China, Japan and Chinese Taipei of Eastern Zone have qualified for the finals. Following the same formula, the Continental Cup in Sri Lanka will also send three teams
from each gender category into the finals.
Iranian men’s team is tipped to earn the ticket to finals of the AVC Continental Cup. The pairing of Parviz Farrokhi and Aghamohammad Salagh will represent Iran. The duo claimed gold at the 2011 AVC Beach Volleyball Championships in December in China and
has a good reputation in the game. They are determined to launch their authority over other teams in the competition.
On the other hand, the Sri Lankan teams are also up for success in the home series. The hosts have a competitive edge of playing under familiar conditions and it is likely that Sri Lankan teams will take good advantage of the opportunity.
The tournament will be rounded off on Sunday, January 22 and top three teams in category will advance to the finals of Continental Cup.
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