Indonesian volleyball player Fauzan Nibras is fearless.
The left-handed opposite spiker turned 16 years old just last Friday, but has impressed against more mature and experienced opposition in the 2024 AVC Challenge Cup for Men in Bahrain.
Despite being the youngest in an extremely youthful Indonesian side, he is brimming with confidence, and has made the most of this opportunity to showcase his talent and limitless potential.
“I feel no pressure,” Nibras told the GDN. “I’ve been playing volleyball since I was 10 years old, and I also play in the pro league in Indonesia. I love the feeling of sports and competing.”
The Indonesia and Chinese Taipei squads playing in the kingdom both feature 14-player rosters that are completely made up of youngsters born in the 2000s. Indonesia’s eldest, middle blocker Ega Yuri Pradana Yoku, was born in January of 2002, while all of Chinese Taipei’s players were born either in 2005 or 2006.
Nibras is the only player in the senior men’s competition born in 2008.
“I feel I have a strong mind and good confidence, and this helps me in my play,” he said.
Although Indonesia lost their two preliminary round games against powerhouses South Korea and Qatar, Nibras made significant contributions. Against the South Koreans, he finished as their top scorer with eight points, and then against the Qataris, was their third-best scorer with seven.
Indonesia head coach Joni Sugiyatno was all praise for Nibras, and added that being a southpaw is a plus for his squad. “He is so young but he has great potential, good skills and good technique,” Sugiyatno said.
“In Indonesia, finding good left-handed players is very difficult; there are not many. He has big talent and we brought him and his teammates here so that they can get good confidence playing against men.”
Aside from gaining valuable experience, Indonesia have come to Bahrain with their young team to help in their preparations for the 22nd Asian Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship, which they will host in Surabaya from July 23 to 30.
“In the Asian Challenge Cup, the other teams have seniors at a very high level; now we can see how good is our technique and our mentality as young players,” said Nibras.
Unfortunately for the youngster, he suffered an injury in Indonesia’s loss to the Philippines on Wednesday in their first of two classification games. Nibras is likely to miss their tournament-concluding fixture today against Chinese Taipei.
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