Teams from Asia, Europe, Africa and Americas to compete
Top international beach volleyball players are set to battle it out for the upcoming Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) Beach Volleyball World Tour – Langkawi Open 2018. Taking place from 26 to 29 April at Pantai Cenang in Langkawi, Malaysia, the competition will see the participation of more teams from Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas in both the men’s and women’s categories.
“Unlike last year’s tournament with 16 teams per gender, this year will see more participants with 32 teams each in the men’s and women’s categories. This is a huge boost to this year’s competition and a big draw for enthusiasts and fans alike from the around the region!” comments Andrew Ching, Chief Executive Office of E-Plus Global Sdn Bhd, promoter and organiser of this year’s tournament.
The countries represented in the MEN’S competition include: _Austria, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Netherlands, Oman, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand and hosts Malaysia_. The WOMEN’S category will feature teams from_ Australia, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Latvia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Paraguay, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Chinese Taipei, Thailand and Malaysia_.
Datuk Benny Hoe, President of the Malaysia Volleyball Association notes, “the initiative taken by the promoter E-Plus Global is greatly applauded as this will surely elevate the interest in the sport, particularly as our Malaysian teams will get a chance to play against some of the best teams in the world.”
The competition will commence with qualifiers on Thursday (26 April) and group phases on Friday (27 April). The round of 12 and quarterfinals is scheduled on Saturday (28 April) with the semi-final and medals-determining matches on Sunday (29 April). In addition to valuable ranking points, competitors can also look forward to a share of the US Dollar $10,000 prize money.
With the FIVB as the governing body for the Olympic sport of Volleyball, the Langkawi event is part of the World Tour 1-Star (WT1) tournament. A win in this professional men and women’s tour is considered by athletes to be amongst the highest accolades in international beach volleyball competitions.
After Langkawi, the tour will continue with the Manila Open (3 to 6 May) and Bangkok Open (10 to 13 May), also organised and promoted by E-Plus Global Sdn. Bhd.
Fans can also enjoy FREE admission to the Langkawi Open. Information, updates and results is available via the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour – Langkawi Open Facebook page and on the worldtour.2018.fivb.com/en/570 website.
The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Langkawi Open 2018 is promoted and organised by E-Plus Global Sdn Bhd, and is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball, the Malaysia Volleyball Association with the support of Malaysia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Langkawi Development Board, Astro Arena, Malay Mail, Grab, Ultron, Tropical Charters and twenty3.tv.
