The national volleyball team has been one of the most consistent outfits in the Pakistani sports landscape in recent years.
Their recent successes have landed them in fifth place in the Asian Volleyball Confederation rankings, while they are 39th out of 218 countries in the world.
At the 2026 Asian Games, they are proving their dedication in style as they make their place in the quarterfinals with their second group win in straight sets against Uzbekistan 3-0 on Monday.
“Our team is young and determined,” the volleyball team leader Naseer Ahmed told Lost on the Desk from Japan. He is also the Pakistan Volleyball Federation Director Technical.
“Every international event is important. And the Asian Games are no different from other multi-disciplinary events and the Asian and World Championships.
“We have prepared for the best results, and the players are confident in their abilities and skills.”
He added that after the first win at the Games, which was against Kazakhstan 3-1 in their Pool A match, the team was hungry for more wins.
“There is no pressure, but we have a lot of team spirit and ambition in the locker room. The great thing is that win against Uzbekistan in our second pool match placed us in the quarterfinals, and that is where their focus is,” explained Ahmed.
Pakistan will play their third and last pool match with hosts, Japan.
The Ryūjin Nippon, who are the top team in Asia and fifth in the world.
Naseer shed light on the selection of the team, as it has been a rigorous process spanning over several months.
“We began the camp for the Asian Games after the CAVA Championship that we held in July and won the title. The Spanish coach Luis Alberto Toribio had also joined us before that championship.
“We held our camp for two months in Wah Cantt and then shifted it to Liaqat Gymnasium in Islamabad. We had a great staff as well, with four local coaches, and we had two foreign coaches.”
The team is a mix of experienced players and newcomers, as their Spanish coach Luis Alberto Toribio ensured quality and strategic balance on the side.
In fact, the average age of the Pakistani volleyball team is less than 30.
“We have a great mix; our most senior player is the captain, Murad, 26, and we also have three boys from Under-19 in the team.
“The philosophy is to have the balance where the seniors lead the team, but we also have the juniors, who can get the exposure and start their path in the national team so that we always have a good talent pool to choose from.”
The team’s composition is also fascinating.
When asked where most of the players in the team are coming from, Ahmed explained that the majority of the players in the team are from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, primarily because of the aptitude for volleyball there.
“The Pakistan national volleyball team represents the entire country, but the trend more recently has been that we have most of our players coming from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab; that’s where volleyball has the most influence.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is more prominent now, in more recent years than Punjab,” said Ahmed.
The Pakistan Head Coach is Spanish, and so far the team has been working very well with him, and language has not been a barrier.
Ahmed said that most of the players in the team are comfortable with English and they understand the instructions perfectly.
“There is not much of a language barrier, firstly, because the language and terms of the sport are the same for everyone in volleyball, and secondly, almost the entire team can understand English, and if there is anyone who has trouble understanding the language, senior players like Murad can guide that athlete, and there are local coaches who are also available for assistance. So things run very smoothly in training,” elaborated Ahmed.
Previously, Pakistan was coached by Iran’s Rahman Mohammadirad, but Toribio took over earlier this year.
Ahmed said that it is the vision of the Pakistan Volleyball Federation Chairman Muhammad Yaqoob Chaudhry to get the best foreign coaches, who can help elevate the national team’s skills.
“It is the vision of our Chairperson; he insists on foreign coaches who can bring modern techniques of the game to Pakistan, and we are connected with the FIVB (Fédération Internationale de Volleyball), and we see which coaches are on their panel, who we can afford, and we go with the best options we have,” said Ahmed.
The team’s most recent achievement was the CAVA Championship title; it was the tournament where they remained undefeated and outplayed Bangladesh 3-0 in the final.
Pakistan were also the runners-up at the 2025 AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup.
Pakistan juniors are also making strides at the U18 and U17 level, as the team qualified and played at the World U17 Championship, where they finished fifth on their debut earlier this year.
-FIN-