The Indonesian Volleyball Association is targeting the Indonesian senior men's national volleyball team to reach the top four at the 2026 AVC Men's Volleyball Cup in Ahmedabad, India, from June 20-28.
Chairman of the Indonesian Volleyball Association , Imam Sudjarwo, said the target was an effort to improve on Indonesia's achievement in the previous edition, when the Red and White team finished in sixth place.
"Our toughest opponents here will likely be Qatar and Korea. Hopefully, we can make it to the top four after finishing sixth in the previous tournament," said Imam after sending off the senior men's national volleyball team at the General Police Kunarto Volleyball Padepokan, Sentul, Bogor, on Wednesday.
The Indonesian men's national volleyball team, consisting of 14 players, will compete in Group B alongside Qatar, South Korea, Thailand, and Oman.
Imam acknowledged that the group stage competition would be challenging, especially as Indonesia faced Qatar and South Korea. Nevertheless, he hoped the Garuda squad would demonstrate their fighting spirit and achieve a better result than at the 2025 AVC Nations Cup.
At the 2025 AVC Nations Cup in Manama, Bahrain, Indonesia had to settle for sixth place after losing to Australia with a score of 0-3 (20-25, 21-25, 22-25).
"I want the players to demonstrate a never-give-up attitude to win every match. I really hope they can achieve a better result than the previous edition, which only finished sixth," said Imam.
Indonesian men's national volleyball team captain Jasen Natanael Kilanta said the team's preparations are going well after undergoing training camps with coach Reidel Toiran and previously with Sergio Veloso.
"In terms of preparation, everything is going well. In the past few weeks, we've been working with Coach Toiran, and previously with Sergio Veloso. Of course, we want to give our best and achieve maximum results at the 2026 AVC Men's Volleyball Cup," said Jasen.
At the event, the Indonesian Volleyball Association (PBVSI) entrusted Reidel Toiran to lead the Indonesian men's national volleyball team. The Cuban coach temporarily replaced Sergio Veloso, who faced administrative issues in entering India.
The Indonesian men's national volleyball team is scheduled to depart for India on Thursday (June 18) afternoon WIB and arrive early Friday (June 19). Afterward, Dawuda Alaihissalam and his teammates will undergo adaptation before their first match against South Korea on Sunday (June 21).
