Kathmandu, Nepal: The Maldives women's national volleyball team concluded their campaign at the ongoing CAVA Women’s Championship with a morale-boosting victory over Bangladesh women's national volleyball team in the final classification match, securing seventh place in the eight-nation tournament.
Despite losing their opening four matches of the competition, Maldives ended the tournament on a positive note with an impressive comeback performance against Bangladesh in the 7th-place playoff.
Bangladesh claimed a tightly contested opening set 27-25, but Maldives responded strongly to dominate the remainder of the match. The Maldivian side produced an emphatic turnaround by winning the next three sets 25-11, 25-17 and 25-12 to seal a 3-1 victory.
Maldives captain Hawwa Rashidha (Hawwa) delivered a standout performance and was awarded the Best Performer of the Match accolade following the victory.
The tournament also marked a historic milestone for Maldivian volleyball, as Maldives entered the competition having recently achieved their first-ever ranking in the FIVB world rankings. The national team was initially placed 63rd in the world rankings prior to the championship.
However, after a challenging campaign against stronger regional opponents, Maldives concluded the competition ranked 71st in the updated FIVB standings.
The championship featured eight nations divided into two groups. The top two teams from each group advanced to the semi-finals, while the remaining four teams entered classification matches to determine positions from fifth to eighth.
Maldives endured a difficult start during the group stage, suffering straight-set defeats in all three preliminary matches.
In their opening match, Maldives lost to Kyrgyzstan women's national volleyball team by 25-19, 25-16 and 25-22. They then faced India women's national volleyball team, where the South Asian side secured a commanding victory with set scores of 25-9, 25-14 and 25-17.
The final group-stage match saw Maldives take on tournament hosts Nepal women's national volleyball team, who also won in straight sets by 25-12, 25-9 and 25-20.
Following the group stage, Maldives entered the classification round and faced Sri Lanka women's national volleyball team in their first ranking match. Sri Lanka secured a 3-0 victory with set scores of 25-17, 25-18 and 25-13.
However, the Maldivian team showed resilience in their final outing against Bangladesh, recovering from the first-set defeat to claim their only victory of the tournament.
Although Maldives finished seventh overall, the competition provided valuable international exposure for the national side as they continue to build experience on the regional stage following their recent entry into the FIVB rankings.
