Phnom Penh Hosts 2009 Disabled Volleyball World Cup

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA

Ten teams of disabled volleyball players from eight countries, including Cambodia, Canada, Germany, Slovakia, Poland, and Malaysia, will be arriving in Phnom Penh in order to attend the World Organization of Volleyball Disabled (WOVD) 2009 World Cup for six days from December 15-20.

The Cambodia 2009 WOVD Volleyball World Cup will be hosted by the Cambodian National Volleyball League (CNVLD), in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans, Youth and Rehabilitation and Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen as a patron, according to Pich Piseth, CNVLD’s National Team Manager. He added that it will be sponsored by the Cellcard Company.

Piseth said that the WOVD Volleyball World Cup will take place at the National Stadium in Phnom Penh and entry is free for all people in Cambodia.

“It is the second time that CNVLD will host the disabled volleyball world cup in Cambodia and we are very honored and proud that Samdech Techo Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of Cambodia will act as patron to our Cambodian disabled volleyball players for the world cup in Cambodia,” he told reporters at a press conference in Phnom Penh on November 16.

Piseth added that the first WOVD Volleyball World Cup took place in Phnom Penh in 2007 with eight countries participating. It resulted in the Cambodian team winning third place in the competition with Germany and Slovakia winning first and second places, respectively.

Christopher Minko, Secretary General of the National Volleyball League Disabled, said that the main objective of the tournament is to compete and win the WOVD Volleyball World Cup and to promote volleyball as a sport for the disabled people of Cambodia. It is also to raise awareness about the rights of disabled people and promote their health in Cambodia.

In relation to the Disabled Volleyball World Cup, Christopher Minko said that Samdech Techo Hun Sen took the incentive to fund the Cambodian national disabled team for their competition.

According to Prime Minister Hun Sen, if the Cambodian national disabled team wins first place in the WOVD Volleyball World Cup 2009, he will award US$10,000 to each Cambodian player; if they win second place, he will award US$5,000 for each player; and if they win the fourth class of the tournament each player will receive US$2,000.

To prepare for the competition, Christopher Minko said that his organization has hired Christian Zepp, an experienced volleyball coach from Germany to train the Cambodian national team. He added that his organization has also provided payment and other financial support to the Cambodian national team while they train in Phnom Penh.

“I hope that with our Cambodian national disabled players’ hard training, talent, strong commitment and their previous playing experiences, they will able to win the first class of the WOVD Volleyball Would Cup in Cambodia. I wish them victory in this competition in Cambodia,” he told The Southeast Asia Weekly during a personal interview.

Chim Chandy, 45, is a veteran disabled volleyball player for the Globe Magazine Eagles in Siem Reap province. He has been honing his volleyball skills there since 2004.

Chandy has been selected to join the Cambodian national disabled team for the 2009 WOVD Volleyball World Cup in Phnom Penh.

“I am honored and happy to be selected for the world volleyball cup in Phnom Penh. I think that it is my opportunity, and I am now training very hard every day for the competition. I will try my best to play and to win first place in the competition for my country,” he told The Southeast Asia Weekly.

He continued to say that last month, his team, the Siem Reap Globe Magazine Eagles, won the “Cellcard Cambodian National Volleyball League-Champions Trophy” in an event organized by the NCVLD in Phnom Penh. ///


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