ISLAMABAD, July 14: The Pakistan Volleyball Federation (PVF) is to organise a training camp for junior players in Quetta, an official said on Thursday. Muhammad Afzal, the volleyball secretary told Dawn that the three-month camp is being held with an eye on the 2008 Asian Under-20 Championship in Islamabad and the 2007 World Under-20 Qualifiers also allotted to Pakistan. The camp is likely to start from Monday with 20 boys to be put under intensive training. “We intend to test some very young players to build for the future,” Afzal said.

“Following that camp which will be attended by 20 boys, an evaluation will be conducted by the national coach.”

Meanwhile a decision on Pakistan’s bid to host the 2007 Asian Seniors Championship is expected at next month’s Board of Administration meeting of the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) in Shanghai, China.

Pakistan, to be represented at the August 30-31 meeting by volleyball chief Chaudhry Muhammad Yaqub, are hoping to beat rival bidders Iran, Kazakhstan, Vietnam and China.

The PVF in the past have successfully staged major international tournaments among them the World Junior Qualification round and the Asian Club Championship in June. This year the Asian Seniors Championship is in Thailand and in this connection, the national spikers are currently training in Wah.

Their most immediate assignment is the Al-Rashid Tournament in the UAE between July 22 and 27 where India will be one of eight contesting nations. After their return home the players will continue their preparations for September’s Asian event.

“Our preparations are well on track and we hope that the boys will do well both at the Al-Rashid tournament and the Asian Senior Championship,” Afzal said.