ISLAMABAD: The training camp of the national junior volleyball squad for the 18th Asian Men’s U-20 Volleyball Championship will continue till July 7.

The Asian event will take place in Chinese Taipei from July 9 to 17.

According to coach Mazhar Hussain, 18 probable are participating in the camp which started last week at the Liaquat Gymnasium, Pakistan Sports Complex.

He added that 12 players will be selected during the first week of July for the final squad.

Asian Men’s U-20 Championship

Mazhar said 16 teams will be seen in action at the Asian event and he was hopeful that Pakistan would make the semis.

“I have some very good players, most of them are under 18 and I hope we at least play a semi-final,” he said.

“All players are working very hard. Though the teams from China, Korea, Japan and Iran are better than us, we are at least expecting a bronze medal. We will try our best for that,” the coach added.

He, however, bemoaned over the four-year-long dispute between two factions of the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) that left negative impact on Pakistan’s sports sector.

“We have lost three precious years. Had there been no dispute at the POA, we could have continued holding national events and participated regularly in international competitions without any break and today you can expect from us to win a gold or silver medal,” he said.

The coach went on to say that Pakistan had won the bronze medal in the last edition after defeating India in Iran.

It is relevant to note here that players are attending the camp at night because of Ramazan.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2016