India beat South Korea 3-1 to remain in 5th-place run at Asian Games 2026

India's men's volleyball team defeated South Korea 3-1 (25-16, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23) at the Okazaki Central Park Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan on Friday in the 5th-8th place classification match at the Asian Games 2026. The win keeps India alive in the fight for fifth place after a quarter-final defeat ended their hopes of a medal.

India entered the classification round ranked 48th in the world while South Korea stood 25th. A day earlier India lost their quarter-final to Pakistan 0-3 (19-25, 23-25, 18-25) in an hour and 22 minutes, ending a 40-year wait for an Asian Games medal since their last podium finish, a bronze in 1986; their only other Asian Games medals in the sport are a bronze in 1958 and a silver in 1962. Head coach Dragan Mihailovic said four starters did not play, though he did not name them or say why. India had topped their group unbeaten, beating Vietnam, Hong Kong and Qatar.

Korea struggled in the opening set, committing frequent unforced errors and failing to handle India's serves, which allowed India to close the set 25-16. The second set began in Korea's favour after early errors from India, but Indian blocks and strong serving swung momentum back; India moved ahead 11-10, extended the margin to 18-15 and secured the set 25-20.

Korea responded in the third set, overturning an 18-19 deficit to take it 25-23. The fourth set saw India lead 17-14 before Korea rallied from 21-23 to level at 23-23; a Korean service error followed by Jeong Han-yong sending his attack wide handed India the set and the match.

India defeated a side ranked 23 places above them in this 5th-8th classification fixture at the Okazaki Central Park Gymnasium. The result moves India into a single-elimination match to determine fifth place.

India will face either Qatar or Thailand in the next match as they bid to finish fifth at the Asian Games 2026.