Indonesia’s Beach Volleyball Duo Ends Strong Run at AVC 2026

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia’s men’s beach volleyball pair Bintang Akbar and Sofyan Rachman saw their impressive unbeaten streak come to an end in the quarterfinals of the AVC Beach Continental 2026 in Shangluo, China, on Saturday, September 5, 2026.

They fell to Australia’s Thomas Hodges and Ben Hood in a tight three‑set battle, 1‑2 (21‑19, 14‑21, 13‑15). This defeat marked their first loss of the tournament after a flawless run through the group stage and round of 16, where they had not dropped a single set.

Bintang and Sofyan opened strongly, taking the first set 21‑19, but struggled to maintain momentum as Hodges and Hood leveled the match with a 21‑14 win in the second. The deciding set was fiercely contested, with the Australians edging out the Indonesians 15‑13 to secure a semifinal berth.

National team coach Slamet Mulyanto acknowledged the effort while noting the difference in experience.

“In the third set, they managed to keep up, but the opponents played better and had more experience. One of them has competed twice at the Olympics," Slamet said in a statement from the Indonesian Volleyball Association (PBVSI), as quoted by Antara.

"Our players must be more consistent and not be affected by the opponent. Now, we prepare for the Asian Games,” he added.

Before their exit, Bintang and Sofyan had recorded four consecutive victories. They advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating New Zealand’s Sam O’Dea and Ben O’Dea in the round of 16, winning 2‑0 (21‑18, 23‑21).

Their group stage performance was equally dominant, finishing top of Group E with straight‑set wins over Hong Kong’s Wong Pui Lam/Chong Kei Loi (21‑10, 21‑12), Kazakhstan’s Yakovlev/Mokhammad (21‑17, 21‑15), and Japan’s Takahashi/Ikeda (21‑16, 21‑15). ***