Defending champions Nepali women team registered the second victory in a row defeating Maldives in straight sets in the Asian Central Zone Volleyball Challenge Cup while the men's team secured the first victory defeating Uzbekistan in Dhaka on Friday.

The women’s team led by captain Aruna Shahi thumped Maldives 25-11, 25-9, 25-5 to maintain their unbeaten winning streak. On the opening day on Thursday, Nepal had rallied from two sets down to beat Sri Lanka 19-25, 21-25, 25-15, 25-19, 15-13.

The men's team overcame a first set deficit of 25-18 to beat Uzbekistan in 3-1 sets. They won the next three sets 25-21, 25-21, 25-23. In their opening match on Friday, Nepal had lost in straight sets to host Bangladesh with scores of 25-17, 25-17, 25-18.

The men's team will vie against Sri Lanka in their third match on Saturday while the women's team will play against hosts Bangladesh.

The women’s teams feature six teams including Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Maldives and hosts Bangladesh besides Nepal. The men's competition will have five teams including Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal and hosts Bangladesh.

The participating teams in both categories will compete in single round-robin and the teams securing top two positions will vie for the title while third and fourth placed teams will compete for third place playoffs.