India beats Japan in a thriller, grabs historic bronze medal at Asian Men’s U16 Volleyball Championship

India ended its Asian Men’s U16 Volleyball Championship debut with a bronze medal in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand on Saturday.

A day after being clean swept by Pakistan in the semifinals, India defeated Japan 3-2 (25-21, 12-25, 25-23, 18-25, 15-10) in a thrilling match to secure a place on the podium while also taking revenge for the 3-1 loss earlier in the tournament.

Abdulla (16 points), Apratim (15 points), Rafik (12 points) and Charan ( 4 points) did the bulk of the scoring for the Indian team in the third-place playoff.

All four semifinalists – India, Pakistan, Japan and Iran – have qualified for 2026 FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U17 World Championship, set to be held in Qatar from August 19 to 29.

India swept through Pool A, beating host Thailand, Australia and China in straight sets to collect the maximum quota of nine points before also beating Uzbekistan in its first match of the crossover stage. However, the defeat to Japan meant it had to take on Pakistan for a place in the final.