Nepal, aiming to win the title on home soil, has made it to the semifinals of the Kava Women's Volleyball Championship. Nepal defeated Maldives in straight sets on Sunday. This is Nepal's second win in Group 'A'. The first match was lost to India.

Nepal won 25-12, 25-9, 25-20 at the Rakhep Covered Hall in Tripureshwor. After some resistance in the third set against Nepal, captained by Niruta Thagunna, Maldives could not make an impact in the set. Maldives, captained by Hawa Rashida, played without pressure in the situation of being out.

Captain Niruta won the Player of the Match award with an impressive performance against Maldives. The previous day's Player of the Match Sumitra Regmi maintained her rhythm. Head coach Jagdish Bhatta gave a chance to the younger players in the third set when they had won two sets against Maldives and became comfortable. Alisa Manandhar made her debut in this match. Five players made their debuts against India. As many senior players had migrated abroad, six new players made it to the national team this time.  

Coach Bhatta expressed happiness over reaching the semifinals with easy results in two consecutive matches. He said, ‘We lost the first game to India, but we reached the semifinals with easy wins in the second and third games. Now our goal is to reach the final and win the title.’

Nepal has been given a three-day rest period for the semifinals. Coach Bhatta said that it does not matter who the opponent is in the semifinals and that they will study the games of other teams during the rest period and strengthen themselves. 

Captain Niruta expressed happiness over the performance of the new young players. She said, ‘The morale of the team has been boosted by the performance of the young players. The spirit has increased. They have not let the lack of seniors be felt. I am happy about that.’ 

Nepal, which won two matches in this group, has made it to the last four by collecting 7 points. Nepal had collected one point after losing to India in a 3-2 set. India, which won two matches, is in second place with 5 points and Kyrgyzstan, which won one match, is in third place with 3 points. Maldives, which lost all three matches, is out without points. Now, the match between India and Kyrgyzstan in the group will be held on Monday. This match will determine the second team from the group to reach the semi-finals. If India wins in straight sets, it will become the group winner, while if Kyrgyzstan wins the match in five sets, both teams will have 6 points equal. This will have to be decided on the basis of sets. 

Due to the non-conclusion of the other group's matches, Nepal's semi-final opponent has not been decided.

Similarly, Iran and Kazakhstan have won their second consecutive victory in Group 'B' on Sunday. Iran defeated Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan defeated Bangladesh. Both won in straight sets. 

Kava's experienced team Iran defeated Sri Lanka 25-16, 25-13, 25-11. Iran won the opening day's match against Bangladesh. 

On Sunday, Kazakhstan comfortably defeated Bangladesh in straight sets. Kazakhstan won 25-5, 25-9, 25-11. The team defeated Sri Lanka on Saturday. Both Iran and Kazakhstan have qualified for the semi-finals from this group. The two teams, who have won two matches and have equal six points, will compete for the title of group winner on Monday. South Asian teams Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, on the other hand, will look for a prestigious victory in the final match of the group.

Monday's matches: