Tournament kicks off 2025 season
After the Lunar New Year holiday, Vietnamese volleyball usually opens the new year with the Hoa Lu - Binh Dien Cup, a tournament held every March in Ninh Binh, gathering many strong teams in both men's and women's categories.
This year, the tournament is expected to take place from March 5 to March 10 at Ninh Binh Provincial Gymnasium. The 12 participating teams include LPB Ninh Binh, VTV Binh Dien Long An, Thanh Hoa, Information Corps, Vietinbank, Thai Binh (women); LPB Ninh Binh, Border Guard, Tan Cang The Cong, Hanoi, Long An, Ho Chi Minh City Police (men).
Similar to last year's season, this year's tournament is missing two famous teams, namely Duc Giang Chemicals (women) and Sanest Khanh Hoa (men).
According to the regulations, in each men's and women's category, the teams are divided into 2 groups, each group of 3 teams will compete in a round robin to score points. The 3rd place team in each group will compete for 5th-6th place, while the top 2 teams in each group will enter the semi-finals to find the champion.
The 2025 Hoa Lu - Binh Dien Cup continues to allow teams to recruit a maximum of 2 foreign players. However, during the match, there will only be a maximum of 1 foreign player on the field. This is similar to the regulation in the national volleyball championship.
The expected lineup
This year, with the gathering of top strong teams and the appearance of many national players, Hoa Lu - Binh Dien Cup 2025 promises to be an attractive playground, opening the way for Vietnamese volleyball in the 2025 season.
Reigning national champions VTV Binh Dien Long An welcomed the return of striker Tran Thi Thanh Thuy after she finished her overseas trip in Indonesia.
The next professional plan of this player is still unclear, but it is likely that Thanh Thuy will compete with the Western team in the upcoming tournament held in Ninh Binh. This is good news for fans of VTV Binh Dien Long An team as well as Vietnamese volleyball as Thanh Thuy is one of the most talented strikers in the country.
"The team also prioritizes creating conditions for some young athletes to compete to improve their skills in the Hoa Lu - Binh Dien Cup 2025," coach Thai Quang Lai of VTV Binh Dien Long An team added. Thus, talented young faces such as Tra My, Nhu Anh, Khanh Vy... will continue to have a playground to show themselves.
In addition to VTV Binh Dien Long An, coaches of many other teams are also actively preparing their players for the upcoming tournament.
With the reigning champion of the tournament being LPB Ninh Binh, coach Thai Thanh Tung still owns a quality, consistent and understanding squad throughout the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Without hiring foreign players, the two most expected attackers are the duo of national players Bich Tuyen and Nguyen Thi Trinh.
Meanwhile, the return of coach Pham Van Long to lead the team helps fans believe that the Signal Corps will compete with high spirit, discipline and regain its position. Many people are also waiting for the "rising star" couple Quynh Huong and Bich Hue to be given the opportunity to shine this time.
Another team that is highly rated this season is Vietinbank. Under the guidance of the national team head coach - Mr. Nguyen Tuan Kiet, the Bank team promises to be the dark horse of the tournament. After adding talented setter Minh Thu, attackers such as Vi Quynh, Tra Giang, Phuong Quynh, Minh Thu promise to have many favorable and beautiful passes.
In addition, Thanh Hoa and Thai Binh are also two teams to look forward to. In terms of strength and form, both may face many difficulties against the above teams. However, with Hoang Thi Thao, Nguyen Thi Uyen or Doan Thi Xuan, Thanh Hoa and Thai Binh promise to bring dedicated matches, helping the Hoa Lu - Binh Dien Cup 2025 become an attractive tournament with high professional quality at the beginning of this year.
