Thanks to the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program, Pakistan secured the championship title at the AVC U16 Men’s Volleyball Asian Championship, held in Nakhon Pathom and Ratchaburi, Thailand. With similar support, India earned the bronze medal, while Iran took home the silver.
The Pakistan Volleyball Federation has received significant funding, totaling USD 290,500, from the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program for coaching support for their men’s national volleyball teams. Furthermore, the program supplied USD 11,500 worth of volleyball equipment. An additional USD 6,000 was allocated for a national team coaches` development and knowledge transfer initiative. Similarly, the Volleyball Federation of India has benefited immensely from the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment program, receiving USD 420,000 in coaching support for their men`s national teams, who train under the guidance of Serbian coach Dragan Mihailovic and his team.
At the AVC U16 Men’s Volleyball Asian Championship, Pakistan dominated Pool D, winning every match without losing a single set against Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Chinese Taipei. In the second stage, Pool F, they comfortably defeated Indonesia and overcame Iran in four sets, securing their spot in the semifinals. There, they achieved a decisive 3-0 victory (25-16, 25-19, 25-12) against India.
Iran, after defeating Japan 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-19) in their semifinal, presented a formidable challenge in the final match. They initially took the first two sets and extended the third into overtime. However, Pakistan launched an incredible comeback, winning 3-2 (22-25, 21-25, 30-28, 25-21, 15-10) to clinch the continental title.
Meanwhile, India had an equally strong start, breezing through the first pool stage with straight-set victories over Thailand, Australia, and China. In the subsequent stage, they narrowly defeated Uzbekistan in a tough five-set match, but then faced their first defeat, losing in four sets to Japan. Despite their semifinal loss to Pakistan, India demonstrated resilience, securing revenge against Japan with a 3-2 (25-21, 12-25, 25-23, 18-25, 15-10) win in the third-place playoff to earn the bronze medal.
The top four nations—Pakistan, Iran, India, and Japan—have successfully qualified for the 2026 FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U17 World Championship, set to be held in Qatar.
The final standings saw Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Korea, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Hong Kong ranking from fifth to fifteenth, respectively.
Faizan Ullah, a 15-year-old outside hitter from Pakistan, was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the championship. He also earned a spot on the tournament`s Dream Team, alongside setter Pouzesh Aidin (Iran), opposite Junaid Muhammad (Pakistan), outside hitter Namazi Azhvan (Iran), middle blockers Fallahkharyeki Maziar (Iran) and Abdullah Wahab (Pakistan), and libero Gautam Shabad (India).
Oliver Wrenwick 
Finley Blackwood