TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) announced Tuesday (Jan. 16) that the Asian Men's U20 Volleyball Championship, originally slated for July in Taiwan, will now be hosted by Indonesia. The venue change is reportedly a result of pressure from China.
Since the Universiade Taipei in 2017, China has not sent any teams to participate in sporting events in Taiwan. In December of last year, China expressed its desire to change the host country and submitted a protest, which necessitated a voting procedure. The official decision was reached during an online meeting hosted by the AVC on the previous day.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Volleyball Federation claimed that the change of venue was due to a protest from China, but the Chinese Taipei Volleyball Association didn't confirm this statement.
Originally, the competition was set to take place from July 20 to 27. The dates have now been adjusted to July 23 to 30 and will be held in Surabaya, Indonesia.
The results of the Asian U20 Men’s Championship will affect the eligibility for the FIVB Volleyball Men's U21 World Championship next year.