The representative of Khanh Hoa's volleyball at the 2019 National Volleyball Championship, Sanest Khanh Hoa, was drawn into a group comprising of Ho Chi Minh City – the current holder of the trophy – and tough team Border.
The representative of Khanh Hoa’s volleyball at the 2019 National Volleyball Championship, Sanest Khanh Hoa, was drawn into a group comprising of Ho Chi Minh City – the current holder of the trophy – and tough team Border.
The draw for the 2019 National Volleyball Championship was made recently by the Vietnam Volleyball Federation. The championship 2019 has three stages and is joined by ten male and ten female teams. The first stage takes place in Bac Ninh Province and Ninh Binh Province from April 3 to 7; the second and final stages is held in Long An Province in October 6-20. Sanest Khanh Hoa was divided into Group A with Ho Chi Minh City, Border, Vinh Long Lottery, and Ha Tinh. This group is said to be relatively tougher than Group B which includes The Cong, Trang An Ninh Binh, Binh Duong Building Materials, Long An, and Ben Tre.
In a statement, Thai Quang Lai, head coach of Sanest Khanh Hoa, said that Ho Chi Minh City was the best team in Group A. The title holder has many quality players among them are the two key players of the national volleyball team, setter Dinh Van Tu and opposite Nguyen Thanh Hai. Border is also a tough opponent to beat. Young opposite player Quang Trong of Border team has been highly appreciated for their competence. He played an important role in helping Border to finish fourth in last year’s tournament. Vinh Long Lottery prepared for this tournament with the joining of some new players. They recruited Quoc Doan who used to perform well when playing for Sanest Khanh Hoa in the previous seasons.
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Khanh Hoa’s team takes part in the 2019 edition with not many changes to the line-up. The ace players are still Tu Thanh Thuan and Ngo Van Kieu besides other outstanding ones such as Le Quang Doan, Trien Chieu, and Dinh Nhu. The only change of the team is the joining of two young players from the provincial junior team Sanna Khanh Hoa. Sanest Khanh Hoa aims to reach the finals at this year’s championship.
Reportedly, from this year’s season, the men’s and women’s events of the National Volleyball Championship will include ten teams each instead of eight teams as the previous seasons. At the end of the tournament, one team will be relegated and one will be promoted. Besides, the tournament’s format was also changed. Specifically, after the first stage, Group A’s 1st, 3rd, and 5th placed teams will be grouped with Group B’s 2nd, 4th, and 6th placed teams to form Group C. The teams of 2nd, 4th, and 6th places in Group A will be matched with the 1st, 3rd, and 5th placed teams of Group B in Group D. The top four of these two groups will enter the final stage.
An Nhien
Translated by H.N
