Indian volleyball teams to leave for South Asian Games on Wednesday

Chennai: The Indian volleyball teams will leave on Wednesday for Kathmandu to participate in the South Asian Games amid reports of a delay due to various issues, sources in the federation said.

The volleyball competition in the SAG (formerly South Asian Federation Games) gets underway on November 27, while the opening ceremony is scheduled for December 1.

Both the men's and women's teams open their campaign on November 28, against Bangladesh and Nepal respectively.

Meanwhile, there were reports of the team's departure being delayed owing to various reasons.

However, a source denied the reports and the federation is making all efforts to ensure the teams leave for the Nepal capital on Wednesday.

He alleged there were some delays with regard to procurement of tickets and kits, but said the federation has taken steps to sort them out and taken it up with the Indian Olympic Association.

"There were some issues with regard to tickets and kits. We have made all possible efforts to send the teams tomorrow," the source said.

He said the teams were scheduled to leave on Tuesday but the plan had to be deferred due to the tickets issue.

India is the defending champion in the men's section and favourite for gold this team with stiff competition expected to come from Pakistan.

The Indian women won the gold in the previous SAG in 2016 in Guwahati.