TEHRAN – Iran defeated the Philippines in straight sets (25-17, 25-20, 25-13) in their opening match at the 2026 AVC Boys' U18 Volleyball Championship on Sunday.

The young Persians will play India and Bahrain on Monday and Tuesday respectively in Pool B.

Pool A features defending champions China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, and Indonesia. Pool C is composed of Pakistan, Thailand, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan; while Pool D includes Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Saudi Arabia.

The 2026 AVC Boys' U18 Volleyball Championship is the 16th edition of the Asian Men's U18 Volleyball Championship, a biennial international volleyball tournament organized by the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) with China Volleyball Association (CVA).

 The tournament is scheduled to take place at Haikou Wuyuanhe Gymnasium in Haikou, China from 12 to 18 July.

This tournament will serve as the qualification tournament for the FIVB Volleyball Boys' U19 World Championship. The top four teams of the tournament will advance to the 2027 FIVB Volleyball Boys' U19 World Championship as the AVC representatives.

China are the defending champions after beating Iran 3–2 at the final in Manama.

Iran are the most decorated team in the competition, having won seven times, followed by Japan with three titles.