HANOI, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The 2018 Asian Women's U19 Volleyball Championship will take place in Vietnam's northern Bac Ninh province on June 10-17 featuring 16 teams, the Vietnam Volleyball Federation said on Thursday.

Defending champion China is in Group A along with Japan, Thailand and Vietnam; Group B consists of South Korea, Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan and India; Group C includes China's two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, Australia and Iran; and Group D has Malaysia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Uzebekistan.

At the previous championship in 2016 in Thailand, China finished first, followed by Japan, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Asian Women's U19 Volleyball Championship is a biennial volleyball competition in Asia and Oceania contested by the under 19 women's teams of the members of Asian Volleyball Confederation. It has been held since 1980.