Dec 25, Kathmandu - The 9th Sher Bahadur Khadka Memorial Foundation, Balkot, is organizing the 9th Sher Bahadur Khadka Memorial National Women's Volleyball Tournament from Paush 23 to 26.

Five teams, including three departmental teams, will participate in the tournament, informed Foundation Chairman Ranjan Khadka at a press conference organized in New Baneshwor on Thursday.

Nepal Police, Nepal Army, APF, New Diamond Youth Sports Club and Everest Volleyball Club will participate. The participating teams will be divided into 2 groups and the matches will be played on a league-cum-knockout basis.

The total prize money of the tournament, which will be held under the main sponsorship of multinational paint company KNP Nerolac, is 1.3 million rupees. The winner will receive 500,000 rupees, the runner-up 250,000 rupees and the third-place team 125,000 rupees. The best in each category will be awarded 25,000 rupees each.

The ‘Player of the Match’ of each match will be awarded a cash prize of Rs 15,000. As in the past, a national women’s player will be honored with a cash prize of Rs 50,000 on the occasion of the inauguration of the tournament.

The matches will be played at the Covered Hall of the National Sports Council (NSC) in Tripureshwor. The APF won the title in the first six editions. New Diamond became the champion in the seventh edition, while the Police came first in the last edition.

At the press conference, Nerolek Country Head Manoj Mishra and the foundation's patron Gamali Khadka also signed the main sponsorship agreement. The organizer stated that the tournament is supported by the National Sports Council, Provincial Sports Development Council, Bagmati Province, various corporate houses and municipalities.

Country Head Mishra said that as the height of the tournament has increased, the organization's love for the tournament has also increased, so the budget allocation has been continuously provided.

Nepal Volleyball Association President Jitendra Bahadur Chand wished the tournament success.

Foundation President Khadka said that each player and technical team member has been insured for Rs 500,000.

The foundation had started the tournament in 2072 BS with the aim of empowering and enhancing the capacity of female players.