The Indonesian U-18 Men's National Volleyball Team is using the 2025 Asian Youth Games (AYG) as a platform to develop a champion's mentality after having to settle for fourth place.
Quoted from a press release received in Jakarta on Wednesday, the Indonesian U-18 Volleyball National Team coach, Miko Fajar Bramantyo, said that the struggle of his foster children left a deep impression.
"This is the best result we've ever achieved with the team we have. This event is an important step in developing the mentality of Indonesia's young athletes," said Miko.
Despite failing to bring home a medal from the 2025 AYG, Miko views their journey during this event as valuable preparation for the future of the Indonesian volleyball team.
"We learned many important lessons from this event. Everyone can use it as a learning tool to look toward a brighter future. I hope the young players who competed here can develop into superstars, not only in Indonesia but also globally," said Miko.
Drawn in Pool D, the Indonesian men's volleyball team immediately put on an impressive performance. They defeated Thailand and Chinese Taipei by identical scores of 3-1. This result propelled Indonesia into the 1st-8th classification round with a perfect record.
In that round, Haikal and his team put in a brilliant performance, defeating China 3-0 before ultimately losing to Iran. Despite the loss, Indonesia still advanced to the quarterfinals and once again demonstrated its dominance by defeating Uzbekistan 3-0.
However, in the semifinals, Indonesia's struggles were halted by Pakistan. After winning the first set, the Indonesian team failed to maintain their momentum and lost 1-3.
The chance to win a medal is still open in the third-place match, which will see Indonesia face Thailand again.
Indonesia appeared confident and led 25-19 in the first set. However, Thailand managed to rebound in the second set with a narrow 26-24 victory, before dominating the next two sets 25-21, 25-21. Thailand ultimately won the bronze medal.