Japan, a fierce opponent of the Azzurre until the VNL final (where, like Italy, booked their ticket to Paris 2024), announced during a press conference which team will play in the Olympics.
Setters: Iwasaki and Seki
Opposite: Wada and Hayashi
Martelli: Koga, Ishikawa and Inoue
Central: Yamada, Miyabe and Araki
Liberi: Kojima e Fukudome
13th athlete available in case of injury: Yamagishi (L)
In presenting the expedition to France, coach Manabe wanted to underline the commitment that the entire team, athletes and staff put in to reach the objective and avoid the great goal of being on the field under the Tour Effel being a failure.
Manabe, who we remember as a world-class setter and also a protagonist of our A1 series, like all the coaches, complained about the inconsistency of having to face the most important event with only 12 athletes and a reserve that can be used in the event of an injury to one of the selected athletes, instead of the 14 that have made up the volleyball team for many years now.
Manabe made a particular choice, among the 12 he inserted 2 liberos (and a third will be the reserve) and explained it like this: “Defense is the lifeblood of Japanese women’s volleyball. There are many great liberos in Japan, but we use two specialists, ) Emi and Kojima.
Since the beginning of this season, Manabe said: “My goal for the Paris Olympics will be decided after consulting with the players and staff after their qualification.” Two days before the press conference, we held a meeting with all the athletes and staff and we identified that our goal for this tournament is “to win a medal.” I think that by winning the silver medal (at the VNL), the team had a strong feeling that they can win against the strongest countries in the world, there is a chance to get on the podium.
