Military conflict affects Iran volleyball teams’ performance in international tournaments

The ongoing military conflict with Israel that Iran is experiencing — has significantly impacted their national volleyball teams’ performance competing in two different tournaments.

Iran’s women’s team playing in the 2025 AVC Nations Cup in Hanoi and men’s team competing in the 2025 VNL in Rio de Janeiro — both experienced performance decline due to psychological pressure from their country’s situation.

The tangible impact was evident when the Iranian women’s team suffered a 1-3 loss to Indonesia in the sixth-place match — a contrasting result to their victory over the same team in the first match that went to five sets.

Yolla Yuliana, Indonesia’s national team captain, observed the unstable condition experienced by Iranian players during the match.