KATHMANDU: Nepal has been deprived of playing the 21st Asian Senior Women Volleyball Championship-2021 to be held in the Philippines.

According to the Nepal Volleyball Association, the Philippines government through the Asian Volleyball Association informed that they were unable to onboard volleyball teams of Nepal and India in the championship citing the sensitivity of new variant of COVID-19. The championship is scheduled to take place from August 29 to September 5.

It is the first time that Nepal’s women’s team is deprived of making its participation in such a big tournament. The decision has hurt the sentiment of Nepali women’s volleyball team, Nepal Volleyball Association said.

Likewise, the closed-door training of the Nepali women volleyball players has been postponed following the decision, the Association added.