Nakhchivan Zonal Championship among Junior Volleyball Players Kicks Off: The Goal is to Qualify for the Baku Championship

The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic zonal championships among junior boys and girls volleyball players in the U-18, U-16, and U-14 age categories started on January 26.

Idman.Biz reports that the main goal of the competitions is to determine the composition of the teams that will represent Nakhchivan in the play-off stages of the Azerbaijani championships among juniors to be held in Baku in 2026, to develop volleyball in the autonomous republic, to identify the strongest athletes, to increase the mass character of sports, and to increase the number of professional local volleyball players.

A total of 24 teams from the cities and regions of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic are participating in the competition. The competition will consist of three stages. The games of the first stage in all age categories will be completed on February 4, 2026. The games of the second stage will be organized in February, and the games of the third stage will be organized in March. A total of 114 games will be held during the zonal competitions.

On the first day of the competition, a total of 9 games were held between boys' and girls' teams in the U-14 age category.

The following scores were recorded in the U14 boys' competition:

"Nakhchivan" – "Shahbuz" - 2:0
"Sadarak" – "Julfa" - 0:2
"Ordubad" – "Shahbuz" - 2:0
"Sharur" – "Kangarli" - 2:1
"Nakhchivan" – "Ordubad" - 2:0

The results in the U14 girls' competition were as follows:

"Sadarak" – "Julfa" - 2:0
"Nakhchivan" – "Momina Khatun" - 0:2
"Julfa" – "Sharur" - 2:0
"Nakhchivan" – "Sadarak" - 0:2