Captain Ishikawa led the Asians in a dramatic five-set victory over Italy in Gdańsk and helped them secure their first medal in the event
Japanese players and coaching staff members celebrate their historic result
Japan’s most talented generation in decades gave the country’s men’s national team its first medal in the Volleyball Nations League on Sunday in Gdańsk, Poland.
With an outstanding performance, the Asians triumphed in a dramatic five-set (25-18, 25-23, 17-25, 17-25, 15-9) battle against reigning world champions Italy in the bronze medal match of the 2023 edition of the tournament, at the Ergo Arena.
- Watch Volleyball Nations League 2023 live on VBTV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY9sGMIl5Uw
The VNL 2023 gold medal match, reuniting Poland and the United States, will bring the fifth edition of the tournament to an end on Sunday, at 20:00 local time (18:00 UTC).
The victory in the bronze medal match in Gdańsk brought Japan back to the podium in a world-level men’s international volleyball event for the first time since 2009, when the Asians claimed bronze in the FIVB Grand Champions Cup.
The Japanese were a powerhouse in the 1960s and 1970s, having won three Olympic medals (one gold, one silver, one bronze) and two bronzes in the FIVB Volleyball World Championship in the period, and may have given the first step to becoming protagonists in the international scene again with their podium appearance in the VNL 2023.
The most popular face in the Japanese team, iconic outside hitter Yuki Ishikawa was phenomenal in the bronze medal match against the Italians. The team captain had a spectacular 21-point performance facing the world champions, getting all his points in kills, including the game-winner.
“We’re so happy with this victory,” an elated Ishikawa remarked. “I’m very proud of my team because we trusted each other the entire time, we’re all very good teammates and I thanked them for that after the match. We played very well in the first two sets, but Italy were serving very tough after that and we had problems. It was a very difficult match for us, but we won it.”
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