Foreign stars raise the bar for Nepal’s volleyball league

While overseas athletes swept individual honours throughout the tournament, players and coaches view the skill gap not as a setback, but as a long-overdue bridge to professionalising the national game.

When Mongolian outside hitter Uranbayar Munkhbayar won the man of the match award in the final of the Nepal Volleyball League on Saturday, it came as a surprise to nobody. The 21-year-old, towering at nearly 6.5ft, was the standout performer of the inaugural franchise league, which promised to herald a new era of Nepali volleyball. Munkhbayar was key in Annapurna Super Kings’ triumph over Karnali Shivraj in the final. Munkhbayar won three MOTM awards in the tournament.