Indonesia's men's volleyball team defeated Thailand 3-2 on June 23, 2026, in a five-set match at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Ahmedabad, winning 19-25, 25-19, 25-22, 23-25, 15-10. The victory lifted Indonesia from fifth to second in Pool B of the AVC Men's Volleyball Cup 2026. One more win over Oman on Friday, June 26, will clinch a semifinal spot.
How Indonesia won despite worse conditioning
Indonesia had just finished a five-set battle against Qatar the day before, while Thailand entered fresh. Head coach Sergio Veloso was absent due to visa issues, leaving Reidel Toiran, a Cuban coach stepping in as interim leader, to guide the team. The situation favored Thailand.
Yet Indonesia prevailed through tactical adjustment. In the second set, assistant coach Nur Widayanto rotated the middle blockers, stabilizing the defense and turning the block into a consistent scoring threat in the sets that followed.
"Thailand had a conditioning advantage because we played five sets the day before," Widayanto said after the match. "But this was a matter of pride, and our players fought through the fatigue."
Indonesia lost the first and fourth sets before taking the fifth 15-10.
Two rubber sets, one clean loss
The result fits a pattern evident across Indonesia's first three group matches. Against Qatar, the team won 3-2 with a 15-13 fifth set after losing the first and fourth. The Thailand match replayed that script almost exactly: another 3-2 victory decided in a rubber set.
Indonesia's sole defeat came against South Korea, a clean 0-3 loss with no individual set victories. The pattern is telling: Indonesia competes hard in tight matches against Southeast Asian rivals but loses decisively to top-tier Asian teams.
The decisive match Friday
With four points from three matches, Indonesia sits second in Pool B. The format advances the top two teams from each pool to the semifinals. Friday's match against Oman will determine whether Indonesia secures that spot.
Two things bear watching: the physical toll of back-to-back five-set matches, and whether head coach Sergio Veloso can rejoin the squad or whether Reidel Toiran remains in command. A semifinal qualification under interim leadership during a coaching transition would demonstrate the team's resilience.
