For over a year, Sana Anarkulova has continuously faced Vietnamese volleyball teams - Photo: AVC
Kazakhstan - Vietnam's most formidable opponent
As the defending champion for 2 consecutive years, the host - Vietnam women's volleyball team is considered the number 1 candidate for the AVC Nations Cup 2025 championship. The tournament kicked off yesterday (June 7) at Dong Anh district gymnasium ( Hanoi ).
Among the 11 participating countries, the team that is considered capable of stopping Vietnam seems to be Kazakhstan. They are currently standing 1 place above Vietnam on the world volleyball rankings with a gap of only 0.16 points.
But this number does not reflect the true strength of the two teams. At the AVC Nations Cup 2024 (last year the tournament was called the AVC Challenge Cup), in the two meetings, the victory belonged to the Vietnamese team (winning 3-1 in the group stage and 3-0 in the final).
Those were matches that left a strong personal mark on captain Bich Tuyen. On the other side of the net, Kazakhstan put all their trust in captain Sana Anarkulova. The 1.88m-tall hitter continued to show impressive form throughout the tournament and was named the tournament’s best striker. But that was not enough to help Kazakhstan find victory against the Vietnamese team.
Many fates
In August 2024 at VTV Cup, Kazakhstan Kuanysh Club was one of the guests attending the tournament with the appearance of Sana Anarkulova and won 4th place overall. In this tournament, the representative of Kazakhstan won 3-0 against the Vietnamese team in the group stage.
Not long after that, at the 2024 AVC Champions League (held in Thailand), Sana Anarkulova, playing for Kuanysh Kazakhstan, once again had the opportunity to face two Vietnamese representatives, Duc Giang Chemicals and LPBank Ninh Binh.
After winning 3-0 against Duc Giang Chemicals and winning Group A with 3 wins, Kuanysh continued to convincingly pass the quarterfinals before rematching with Bich Tuyen and LPBank Ninh Binh in the semi-finals.
It was one of the best matches of the tournament when both teams scored 95 points, but LPBank Ninh Binh won 3-1 in the end. Sana Anarkulova scored 23 points but was also overshadowed by Bich Tuyen with 35 points in this match.
Kazakhstan (in white) is the biggest opponent of the Vietnamese women's team at the AVC Nations Cup 2025 - Photo: AVC
Dream of winning
After the defeats against the Vietnamese team as well as LPBank Ninh Binh, captain Sana Anarkulova once again led her teammates at the AVC Nations Cup 2025. The biggest goal that she and the entire Kazakhstan team are aiming for is the championship.
Previously, at the end of 2023, this 35-year-old striker played for Thanh Hoa Club and she created a great attraction for Vietnamese fans. Anarkulova's excellent performance was the key to helping the Thanh team open the door to relegation with a miraculous scenario.
The enthusiasm of the fans as well as billions in bonuses from sponsors after Thanh Hoa stayed in the league made the Kazakhstani striker at that time impressed with Vietnamese volleyball.
Returning to the AVC Nations Cup 2025, Kazakhstan is in Group B with opponents Philippines, Iran, Indonesia, Mongolia and New Zealand. Passing the group stage is not a difficult task for Sana Anarkulova and her teammates.
However, facing the Vietnamese team on the journey to the throne is certainly a big and emotional challenge for Sana Anarkulova.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/sana-anarkulova-va-duyen-no-voi-bong-chuyen-viet-nam-20250607234007125.htm
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