RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia’s beach volleyball duo Bintang Akbar and Sofyan Efendi will compete for third place after a narrow semifinal defeat to Australia’s Howat and Ryan at the AVC Beach Tour Raja Ampat 2026. The match, played at Waisai Beach in Southwest Papua on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, ended 1-2 (21-19, 15-21, 12-15) in favor of the Australians.

Despite the setback, Bintang and Sofyan, gold medalists at the 2025 SEA Games displayed strong form throughout the tournament. In the group stage, they opened with a convincing 2-0 (21-13, 21-16) win over Hong Kong’s L.F. Lee and C.H. Lee. Their momentum continued in the round of 16, where they dominated Kazakhstan’s Yakovlev and Mokhammad 2-0 (21-13, 21-13), Antara reported.

As other Indonesian teams exited the competition, Bintang and Sofyan carried the nation’s hopes into the quarterfinals. They secured another straight-set victory, defeating China’s Li Qi and Du Hongjun 2-0 (21-13, 21-16), before falling just short in the semifinal against Australia.

The pair will now face Thailand’s K. Dunwinit and N. Banlue in the bronze medal match on Thursday, April 9, 2026, at 9:30 Jakarta time.

The Raja Ampat leg of the AVC Beach Tour features 39 men’s and women’s teams from across Asia and Oceania, including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, and Southeast Asian nations such as Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines.

Indonesia, as host, fielded six teams, three men’s pairs and three women’s pairs. The AVC Beach Tour is part of a continental series organized by the Asian Volleyball Confederation, offering athletes ranking points and valuable international experience.

For Bintang and Sofyan, the bronze medal match represents not only a chance to secure a podium finish but also to reaffirm their status as one of Southeast Asia’s strongest beach volleyball duos. ***