AVC Men's Cup 2026: India defeat Bahrain to clinch historic first-ever bronze medal

This is the first time that India will stand on the podium in the competition history

History created at the Veer Savarkar complex as the Indian men’s volleyball team clinched the bronze medal after a dominating win against defending champions Bahrain in the third-place play-off of the AVC Men’s Cup 2026 on Sunday.

India, coached by Dragan Mihailovic, was brilliant throughout the tournament and suffered a heartbreaking loss in the semis against Indonesia.

His influence was evident with skipper Jerome acknowledging it in a post-match chat. The team stood tall in the home turf to get their first medal in the AVC Men’s Cup.

Related: India vs Bahrain Play-off Highlights & Replay, AVC Men’s Cup 2026

It was one of the many firsts for Team India as they are hosting the tournament for the first time. Having won their first-ever game this year and they registered their first appearance in the knockouts as well. It is a wonderful achievement to have clinched the bronze medal in front of the home crowd.

Wearing red for the day, India were in red hot form against the defending champions. They started brilliantly scoring the first five points of the game, before Bahrain came back, thanks to a few unforced errors from India due to their aggressive style of play.

The home team never stopped their attacking, and their intelligent use of the challenge helped them secure crucial points as well. Although they were denied the set point in the first game, Joe’s Spike secured the first Set for India at 25-23.

It was a topsy-turvy second set with Bahrain showing strong character to come back. The defending champions brought smart play mixing drop shots with spike, exposing the huge gap Indians had left on the court.

Drop shots continued as the visiting team made it one set each by clinching the second set, reversing the score line from the first set.

Indians quickly realised it to make amends in the third set as they secured the first five points. Skipper Jerome continued his aggressive way while Libero Anand displayed brilliant defensive play against height-dominated strikes as they raced to 13-5.

Just like all champion teams do, Bahrain brought their tricks on to the court to reduce the margin to 15-12.

But the hosts were ready for it as they have been all through the tournament with multiple counter-attacking moves.

Erin shot an Ace which bounced to the roof top after hitting the line, resulted in the fans exploding at the Veer Savarkar Stadium was one of the moments of the game. It was a matter of time, before they close out the set with 25-21.

Related: Korea vs Indonesia Final Live Updates, AVC Men’s Cup 2026

Indian continued their momentum in the fourth set with multiple moments of brilliance. Chirag with their sharp serves and the offensive play from the likes of Shikhar and skipper Jerome secured the fourth set, the match and the bronze medal.

The game finished with an arousing reception from the fans who have thronged in numbers to support the team.

The tournament has ignited the interests among Indian public and the players would be happy to have seen the attention they have got in the last two weeks.

Entering the tournament as World No. #58, India have jumped ahead to rank #42 with five wins out of five games in the league stage.

It is a memorable tournament for the hosts as their previous appearance in AVC Men’s Cup was in 2023 where India failed to win a single game and finished last.

The Volleyball fraternity would be hoping that it is a revival of the sport to the era of 50s & 60s when India played in the World Championships and won medals in the Asian Games.

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