AVC Men's Volleyball Continental Championship 2026: India enter quarter-finals
India have entered the quarter-finals for the first time since 2019
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India’s men’s volleyball team has booked a spot in the quarter-finals of the ongoing AVC Men’s Volleyball Continental Championship after closing out their group stage campaign in Kitakyushu, Japan, with a much-needed win.
The team beat New Zealand in straight sets, 25-22, 25-18, 25-21, in their final Pool B fixture, a result that turned out to be exactly what they needed to stay alive in the tournament.
The road there was not easy. India opened the championship with a tight but ultimately losing effort against China, going down 21-25, 26-28, 25-27, then followed it up with another straight-sets defeat, this time to four-time champions Iran, by a score of 20-25, 26-28, 18-25.
How India made it through on a 12-team table
With just a win and a couple of losses, India finished Pool B on three points, and their fate rested on how the combined standings across all three pools shook out. The format meant the top eight of 12 teams overall would advance, not just pool winners, so India’s spot wasn’t guaranteed until the last results came in.
By the numbers, India ended up eighth in the combined table with a set ratio of 0.500 and a point ratio of 0.963, just ahead of ninth-placed Bahrain, who also finished with a win from three matches.
Japan has topped the standings unbeaten in three, South Korea took second on seven points, and Iran and China both sat on six points apiece from a couple of wins each in Pool B, setting up a top-of-group clash between the two. Chinese Taipei rounded out the qualifying teams in seventh spot.
For head coach Dragan Mihailovic’s side, this is their first appearance in the knockout stage since 2019, when India also reached the quarter-finals in Tehran before losing 3-1 to South Korea.
That campaign ended with an eighth-place finish overall, after India fell in the 5th-8th classification bracket to Chinese Taipei and then lost the 7th-place match to Pakistan in five sets.
Getting back to this stage seven years later comes on the back of a bronze medal finish at the AVC Men’s Volleyball Cup in Ahmedabad back in June, India’s first-ever podium finish at that event. The quarter-final draw is expected to pit India against one of the group toppers, a stiff test, but for now the team will take the win and the ranking that got them there.
How did India qualify for the quarter-finals of the 2026 AVC Men’s Volleyball Continental Championship?
India finished Pool B with one win and two losses, beating New Zealand 3-0 in their final group match. That result placed them eighth in the combined standings across all three pools, on a set ratio of 0.500 and a point ratio of 0.963, just ahead of ninth-placed Bahrain.
Which teams did India lose to in the group stage?
India lost to China 0-3 (21-25, 26-28, 25-27) in their opening match, then to four-time champions Iran 0-3 (20-25, 26-28, 18-25).
When was the last time India reached the quarter-finals before 2026?
India’s previous quarter-final appearance came in 2019, when they lost 3-1 to South Korea in Tehran, then fell in the 5th-8th classification bracket to Chinese Taipei before losing the 7th-place match to Pakistan, finishing eighth overall that year.
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