500 athletes contest Volleyball and Beach Volleyball competitions at Pan-Armenian Games

The 8th edition of the Pan-Armenian Games was held earlier this month in Armenia, thereby gathering 7,000 athletes from across the globe with Armenian roots and belonging to the Armenian diaspora. Volleyball and Beach Volleyball featured prominently on the programme of the Games, thus accounting for some 500 athletes overall. 

As many as 20 men’s and 10 women’s teams participated in the Pan-Armenian Volleyball Tournament, with players from Europe, South and North America, Asia, and even from Africa involved in the competition. The favourites of the men’s tournament were local teams plus the side from Istanbul, Türkiye. The players of Team Yerevan were crowned the champions, with Vanadzor and Metsamor claiming second and third place, respectively. Team Yerevan claimed top honours also in the women’s competition, with Istanbul and another Armenian team, Garni, completing the podium. The tournament featured also teams from USA and Iran.  

Some 10 teams contested the women’s Beach Volleyball tournament, with players from Armenia representing Garni and Ashtarak securing gold and bronze – and silver going to Russia’s Doni Nakhichevan. Two teams from Yerevan were the gold and silver medal winners among the 15 sides contesting the men’s competition, with Gyumri completing the top three.  

The opening ceremony of the 8th Pan-Armenian Games was held in the second largest city of Armenia, Gyumri, whereas the closing ceremony took place on August 19 in the pagan temple of Garni, not far from the capital, Yerevan.