Japan’s men’s volleyball team for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics has been finalized.

The Japan Volleyball Association announced on its official social media accounts on Thursday the 13 men’s volleyball players who will compete in Paris.

The roster includes captain outside hitter Yuki Ishikawa, setters Akihiro Fukatsu and Masahiro Sekita, opposite spikers Yuji Nishida and Kento Miyaura, outside hitters Tatsunori Otsuka, Ran Takahashi and Masato Kai, middle blockers Daishi Onodera, Akihiro Yamauchi and Kentaro Takahashi, 안전 토토사이트 and libero Tomohiro Yamamoto. Shoma Tomita will join them as a reserve.

Japan’s men’s volleyball team hasn”t won an Olympic medal since winning in Munich in 1972. Starting in 1996 in Atlanta, they failed to qualify for three consecutive Games. In Beijing in 2008, they finished 11th and hoped to make a comeback, but were quickly rejected. In London 2012 and Rio 2016, they failed to qualify for two consecutive Games. In Tokyo 2021, they competed as the host nation and finished seventh.

They also groaned at the World Championships. Japan’s men’s volleyball team finished third at the tournament for the second time since 1970. Since then, they haven’t finished on the podium. In 2014, they even suffered a shock qualification exit.

In recent years, their competitiveness on the Asian stage has also been criticized. In the past, Japan”s men”s volleyball team was an absolute powerhouse at the Asian Games. Starting in Tokyo in 1958, they won five consecutive gold medals. They slipped to runner-up in Bangkok in 1978, but quickly regained their dominance at the next edition. However, their results have been uneven since then. In 2006 and 2018, he fell as low as fifth place.

The downward spiral continued. In 2022, Japan’s men’s volleyball team had a “precipitation”. They hired French coach Philippe Blanc (now head coach of Hyundai Capital). Under Blanc, Japan’s men’s volleyball program reached its second peak. After warming up with a fifth-place finish in the FIVB Volleyball Nations League (VNL) in 2022 and a 12th-place finish at the World Championships in his first year, the team embarked on a “perfect season” the following year.

In 2023, Japan’s men’s volleyball team finished third in the VNL, bringing home a medal at the World Championships for the first time in 46 years since the 1977 World Cup silver medal. It didn’t end there. They finished second (5-2) in their group at the Paris Summer Olympics, qualifying for the Olympic Games for the first time in 16 years. At the Asian Games in Hangzhou, she won a bronze medal.

This year is no different. Having just finished the 2024 VNL qualifiers in fourth place (9-3), Japan’s men’s volleyball team is currently ranked second in the world. Only Poland is higher.

The Japanese men’s volleyball team will begin their quest to win the VNL title with a quarterfinal match against World No. 9 Canada on May 28. After the tournament, the team will head to the Paris Olympics. It starts on the 26th of next month. It will be interesting to see how far they can go.

Meanwhile, Blanc will officially take the helm of Hyundai Capital in August 2024, after the Paris Olympics. He will serve a three-year term.