The inaugural Guardians Trophy 2026 got underway at the Don Bosco Oratory,
Panjim, on Friday, bringing together the Under-21 squads of all 10 Prime Volleyball League (PVL) franchises on one competitive platform.
The opening day featured 10 group-stage matches, with the country’s emerging volleyball talent producing a series of closely fought contests as the battle for places in Sunday’s semi-finals began to take shape.
The hosts Goa Guardians won both their group matches on the opening day and sit atop the Group A. The home team defeated Chennai Blitz by 2 sets to 1 in the opener in the morning session before returning to the Fr Benedict Furtado indoor stadium in the evening for their second straight victory of the day with a 2-1 win against Hyderabad Black Hawks.
Earlier, Delhi started their campaign strongly with a straight-sets victory over Bengaluru, winning 15-13, 15-11, 15-11. Hyderabad registered a straight-sets win against Bengaluru, while Chennai bounced back from their opening defeat to beat Delhi 2-1.
Ahmedabad Defenders occupy the top place in Group B as they launched their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Mumbai, and then continued their strong start by defeating Kochi 2-1 in the second match of the day. Elsewhere Kochi edged Kolkata, Mumbai responded in their second match with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Calicut, while Kolkata closed the day’s action with a 2-1 victory over Calicut.
The race for the Semifinals berths continues on Saturday where the group stage resumes at 11am with another 10 matches scheduled as every team completes its round-robin campaign.
With only the top two teams from each five-team group progressing, Saturday’s matches will determine the four semi-finalists who advance to the knockout stage.
The Guardians Trophy 2026 semifinals and final will be played on Sunday, 16 August, bringing the inaugural three-day U21 competition to a close in Goa.
The Guardians Trophy, organised by Goa Guardians, has been created as a competitive platform for the next generation of Indian volleyball players, bringing together the youth squads of all 10 Prime Volleyball League franchises for the first time on one stage.
Guardians Trophy 2026:
Match 1: Bengaluru 0-3 Delhi [13-15, 11-15, 11-15]
Match 2: Mumbai 1-2 Ahmedabad [14-16, 15-9, 9-15]
Match 3: Chennai 1-2 Goa [6-15, 12-15, 15-11]
Match 4: Kochi 2-1 Kolkata [15-13, 12-15, 15-11]
Match 5: Hyderabad 3-0 Bengaluru [15-8, 15-13, 16-14]
Match 6: Calicut 1-2 Mumbai [15-17, 15-9, 15-17]
Match 7: Delhi 1-2 Chennai [14-16, 14-16, 15-9]
Match 8: Ahmedabad 2-1 Kochi [15-13, 18-16, 10-15]
Match 9: Goa 2-1 Hyderabad [15-12, 15-13, 12-15]
Match 10: Kolkata 2-1 Calicut [15-13, 10-15, 15-12]
All matches are streamed live on Goa Guardians and Prime Volleyball YouTube Channels.
