Japan’s women’s national volleyball team is going all-in for the Paris 2024 Olympic qualifiers, which begin in September.
The Japan Volleyball Association unveiled its 14-player roster for the Asian Championships on Sept. 18. The team is missing a number of starters who competed in the FIVB Volleyball Nations League (VNL). The names of Japan’s ace outside hitters Sarina Nishida, Mayu Ishikawa, Arisa Inoue, Kotona Hayashi, middle blocker Nichika Yamada, setter Nanami Seki and outside hitter Miyu Apojit Nagaoka were not included.
Immediately, on August 30, the Asian Championships will be held in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. Ten days later, the Olympic qualifiers will be held, followed by the Hangzhou Asian Games on September 28. From the Asian Championships to the Asian Games, it’s a marathon. Japan will host the Olympic qualifiers at home from September 16 to 24. The team will be preparing for the Olympic qualifiers at home.
Japan plans to field a second team for the upcoming Asian Championships and Hangzhou Asian Games. Earlier, in late July, Japan announced the 12-man roster for the Asian Games. Seven of them were included in the roster for the Asian Championships.
The team will be captained by middle blocker Haruse Shimamura. Setter Aki Momi, who started at the Tokyo Olympics, was named to the roster, along with 2000-born setter Tsukasa Nakagawa. Outside hitters Okumu Oba, Yuga Sato, Miwako Osanai and Yuki Nishikawa are also headed to Thailand. Outside hitter Rui Nonaka, born in 2001, is new to the national team this year.
2000-born outside hitter Miyu Nakagawa, middle blockers Kyoko Aoyagi, Mami Yokota and Erina Ogawa, and liberos Manami Kojima and Miku Iwasawa will be competing at the Asian Championships.
Seven of them – Shimamura, Sato, Ogawa, Nakagawa Miyu, Nakagawa Tsukasa, Nishikawa Yuki and Osanai – will also compete at the Asian Games.토토사이트
Japan also fielded a team at the recently concluded U21 World Championships. With its abundance of human resources, the country remains competitive on the international stage.
Meanwhile, Japan’s men’s national volleyball team will also compete in the Asian Championships as a first-team squad. Yuki Ishikawa, Yuji Nishida, and Ran Takahashi have been retained in the squad and will be looking to take the top spot in Asia.