Asian Senior Men\\\'s Volleyball Championship kicks off today

The seven-nation DBBL Asian Senior Men's Central Zone Volleyball Champion- ship, organised by the Bangladesh Volleyball Federation in association with International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC), will begin at the Shaheed Suhrawardy Indoor Stadium, Mirpur, at 3:00 pm today (Saturday), reports UNB.
Veteran politician and commerce minister Tofayel Ahmed is expected to inaugurate the tournament as the chief guest while state minister for youth and sports Biren Shikder, Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports Arif Khan Joy and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Youth and Sports Ministry Zahid Ahsan Russel will be present as special guests on the occasion.
Apart from hosts Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Maldives, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and the Maldives will take part, split in two groups, in the six-day continental meet. Two toppers of the two groups will play the semifinal to confirm the final berth.
Bangladesh is ready to play against any opponent in the opener, subject to the match fixture which was due to be finilised by Friday evening (May 22).
Afghanistan, Maldives, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have already reached Dhaka a week ago. Turkmenistan arrived Friday evening while Nepal was due to arrive Friday night. Tajikistan quit the tournament at the dead end.
The approximate tournament budget has been fixed at Tk 7.5 million (75 lakh) and Bangladesh will bear all the expenses for the Nepal team who suffered a couple of mega earthquakes recently.
Bangladesh Volleyball Federation (BVBF) President Atiqul Islam disclosed the details at a press conference at the Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) auditorium Friday.
Atiqul Islam, who is also the president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), informed that Bangladesh, ranked 166th among 220 volleyball playing nations, is hosting such international volleyball event for the first time with a view to popularising the game across the country as well as for the development of the game.
BVBF president Atiqul Islam, general secretary and member secretary of the tournament media committee Ashiqur Rahman Miku and senior vice president H Aslam Sunny also spoke on the occasion.
State- run television BTV will telecast live all the matches while Rupali Bank came forward as platinum sponsor and PEPSI as drinks partner.