The second round of the 2023 National Volleyball Championship kicked off in Da Nang on Friday.

Da Nang men's volleyball team practices in order to prepare for the second round of the 2023 National Volleyball Championship. Photo: P.N

After nearly 20 years of waiting, the national volleyball tournament returned to the city thanks to recent good performances of the Da Nang men's volleyball team.

The second round is taking place at the city’s Tien Son Sports Arena from November 3 - 12.

Participating teams are divided into two groups for round-robin competitions. Under the tournament’s rule, top 4 teams of the two groups will enter the final round.

Da Nang is included to the group with Ninh Binh, Ha Noi, Binh Duong and Bien Phong. The other group consists of Khanh Hoa, The Cong, Ha Tinh, Long An and Ho Chi Minh City.

In the first round, Da Nang ranked second in the medal table with a total of seven points.

2023 is the first time the Da Nang men's volleyball team has won the ticket to the national volleyball championship after many years of competing in grade A tournaments.

The team's immediate goal is to avoid relegation before thinking about winning tickets to the final round. To stay relegated, it needs to win at least one out of the four matches in round 2.

In order to prepare for the round, the local men's volleyball team has been facilitated to practice and compete with other teams in the central region including Ha Tinh and Khanh Hoa to improve their performances.

Led by coaches Le Nho Thanh and Tran Viet Cuong, the local volleyball team features 14 players, namely Tuan Anh, Trung Thanh, Anh Tuan, Xuan Hoang, Minh Hieu, Thanh Tung, Xuan Duc, Minh Thanh, Thanh Tuan, Tuan Huy, Trung Hieu, Trung Kien, Minh Khuyen and Thaweerat Thanathat from Thailand.

Thanathat's presence is expected to help Da Nang increase its strength in attack. He is a striker with good scoring skills at the Thai volleyball championship and he used to be a member of the Thai men's volleyball team attending the 32^nd SEA Games.

Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Culture and Tourism Nguyen Trong Thao remarked that being the host of the tournament will contribute to spreading and promoting the development of the volleyball movement in the city.

Reporting by PHI NONG - Translating by M.DUNG