Taipei, Jan. 17 (CNA) Taiwan has withdrawn from hosting the 2024 Asian Men's U20 Volleyball Championship due to China's objection on political grounds, according to a press release on the Iran Volleyball Federation's website released Tuesday.
The Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) confirmed on its Facebook page on Tuesday that the tournament, originally scheduled to be held in Taiwan from July 20 to July 27, 2024, will be hosted by Indonesia in the city of Surabaya July 23-30.
The AVC's post did not offer any reason for the change, but the press release on the Iran Volleyball Federation's website, recapping an AVC online meeting held Jan. 15, said Taiwan made a decision to "withdraw" from hosting the tournament.
"The reason behind the withdrawal was China's objection, on political grounds, to its ability to participate in the competition," the press release said.
Participation in the competition was "a topic of relevance" because it is Asia's qualification tournament for the 2025 Men's U21 World Championship, the press release said.
China had made protests to change the host since December 2023, according to sources, but the final decision was made at the AVC meeting Tuesday.
Taiwan's Chinese Taipei Volleyball Association (CTVA) has not commented on what transpired. Its secretary general, Huang Kuo-kuang (黃國光), told CNA that the association will follow the AVC's schedules and arrangements.
China sent a team to participate in the same tournament held in Taiwan in 2016, but since the Taipei 2017 Universiade, China has not attended any sports competitions held in Taiwan.
The CTVA is still preparing to host the 2024 Asian Women's Volleyball Challenge Cup, likely consisting of 12 teams, Huang said, but the tournament's dates have yet to finalized.
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