Beach U18 World Championships 2026

From the airport straight to the court: Iranian boys start off victorious despite exhausting trip to the Hague

Amin Vakili & Amirreza Jamshidi travel for 30 hours to get to the U18 World Champs just in time to win their first match

Published 08:51, 10 Jul 2026

Azevedo/Gibson (CAN) vs Amin/AMIR REZA (IRI) - Pool A #112793233

Iran’s Amin Vakili & Amirreza Jamshidi showed resilience, great motivation and moral strength as they arrived in the Hague after a heavy 30-hour trip from home right in time for their first pool match, jumped straight into the court and persevered through a three-set battle to mark a victorious start to their campaign at the 2026 FIVB Beach Volleyball U18 World Championships in the Netherlands.

Watch the 2026 FIVB U18 Beach Volleyball World Championships on the Beach Volleyball World YouTube channel

15-year-old Amin and 16-year-old Amirreza had to put their patience to the test even in the weeks leading up to the U18 World Championship. Because of the peak travel season, the issuance of their visas was delayed so much that at some point they were told they would not be going to the Netherlands for their dream participation in this global event. The president of the Iranian federation, however, got involved and promised to help resolve the issue, and although their trip was still at risk because of time pressure and difficult travel arrangements, the team remained optimistic.

At that time, Amin & Amirreza’s coach Saber Hoshmand told them: “We’ll go by bus, if necessary – just be tough, be ready for the championship. It doesn’t matter how we get there, you will need to perform as well as you can.”

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Coach Saber Hoshmand instructs Amin & Amirreza during their opening match in the Hague

Finally, the visas were issued in the last minute, but it was not the end of their troubles. The trip itself was a very difficult one. First, they took a flight from Tehran to Urmia. From there, they took a bus, crossed the border with Turkiye to reach the city of Van, where they took another flight to Istanbul.

However, because of some further passport and visa formalities, the Iranian delegation could not get on their flight to Amsterdam immediately and got held up at the airport for nine hours, forced to get some night sleep on the floor in the waiting area. Finally, on the day main draw action at the U18 World Champs served off, the Iranian boys and their staff took the flight to Amsterdam and, from there, traveled to the Hague by bus.

“We had been training for five months, very tough training, so we believed that we had to come here, show what we have learned and win our games, if possible,” Amin Vakili told the FIVB. “We have put in a lot of effort before coming to this championship and that was one of the reasons for our motivation.”

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Amin Vakili in attack against Canada

Shortly after their arrival at the premises in the afternoon, Amin & Amirreza had to jump into action. In their first Pool A game, the Iranian teens battled it out for a three-set victory over Canada’s Bruno Azevedo & Cameron Gibson, completely dominating the tie-breaker for a 2-1 (21-16, 20-22, 15-6) final result.

“We had a lot in our bodies to put into the game, but we were frustrated and it was tough,” Amin Vakili said. “In the first set, we got used to the conditions, the weather and everything, but after that we came together and talked together to find a way to win the game. I am very appreciative of the fact that we are here, especially thanks to the president of the Iranian federation.”

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Amirreza Jamshidi in defense

“Even after this very long and tough trip, I thought it was a very easy game,” cold-minded Amirreza Jamshidi added. “We should have not let them take one set. We should have won in straight sets and then go to get some sleep. But now we still have time to catch up with our sleep before the next match tomorrow.”

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Amin & Amirreza celebrating the victory

The Iranian team’s Pool A campaign in the Hague continues on Friday with games against top-seeded Sven van Groenestein & Kyan Bezemer of the Netherlands, starting at 11:30 local time (09:30 UTC), and against Poland’s Karol Lunio & Wojciech Witkowski, serving off at 19:50 (17:50).

“I have no idea about the other teams. We have no data about them and since we have arrived just now, we haven’t seen them yet,” said coach Saber Hoshmand. “But I think we can at least finish among the best four and even win this championship.”