AVC Cup 2026: Thailand's Bungkam, Indonesia's Chance to Reach Semifinals

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Men's Volleyball National Team (National Team) opened the opportunity to qualify for the semifinals of the 2026 AVC Men's Volleyball Cup after successfully defeating Thailand in the third match of the group stage.

Indonesia won after successfully going through a fierce five-set battle with a final score of 3-2 (19-25, 25-19, 25-22, 23-25, and 15-10) on Tuesday, June 23, 2026. It was the second victory that Indonesia had won in the tournament held in India.

Nur Widayanto as assistant coach of the Indonesian National Team admitted that Thailand actually had an advantage in terms of physical condition because the Garuda Squad had just undergone a five-set match against Qatar the day before.

"However, the match was full of prestige so the children still tried to fight to overcome fatigue," said Widayanto in an official statement from the Indonesian Volleyball Association (PBVSI).

The results obtained from facing the White Elephant Country make Indonesia's chances of advancing to the semifinals still open. So far, Indonesia is still in second place in the Pool B standings with four points.

Indonesia is still two points behind Thailand who are in the top position. If they manage to maintain their current position, then Toiran Reidel's squad will continue their journey to the top four.

The Garuda squad will then play the last match against Oman on Friday, June 26, 2026. On paper, Indonesia is still the underdog because the opponent team is currently the key player in the standings.

In the match against Thailand, Indonesia relied on the performance of Farhan Halim, Alfin Daniel, Ahmad Gumilar, Hendra Kurniawan, Fauzan Nibran, and Boy Arnez Arabi.

Widayanto explained that Indonesia had difficulty in the first set because the role of the middle blocker was not running optimally, both when blocking and attacking.

"Therefore, we rotated in the second set. Previously, Gumilar was in front, we exchanged with Hendra, Gumilar in the back," he said.

The rotation change was maintained until the fifth set and proved effective. Even though they made many service errors, losing the fourth set, Indonesia was able to fight in the deciding set.