TEAM COMPOSITION

Since winning bronze at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Japan’s first Olympic medal since 1984, the Japan Volleyball Association has put in place a new squad for the new quadrennial – a move that could merit a winning roster in the future. In May, coach Masayoshi Manabe’s team started their first training camp for the season in Tokyo followed by another in Switzerland before taking part in the Montreux Volley Masters.

With the more experienced players not present, the younger members of the squad took advantage of the opportunity to obtain much valued game time. Key player Saori Kimura took on a new, bigger responsibility as captain of the team – a worthy appointment due to her strong performance in their bronze medal finish at the Olympics.

Although Manabe’s squad have their eyes on following up on their bronze medal performance in London with another medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as well as advancing on their 2010 World Championship bronze medal – Japan’s first World Championship medal since 1978 - of more immediate concern is the improvement of their World Grand Prix record, which they successfully achieved placing fourth overall. Keeping up with their good tempo, Japan finished second behind Thailand at the Asian Championship last September in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.