Watch volleyball, can not miss Japan!

Japanese fans, or Yoshino Sato, may cry over not winning a medal at the Women's Volleyball World Cup. But neutral fans have no regrets, because they got to watch all 7 matches of Japan in the tournament.

Yoshino Sato, as well as the Japanese team, plays better and better - Photo: FIVB

Volleyball village is getting boring?

Any team that wins the quarter-final will play all 7 matches in the tournament. And that is the "gift" that the Japanese team brought to the world 's neutral volleyball fans, when they made a spectacular comeback to beat the Netherlands in the quarter-final.

That hard-fought victory immediately "discounted" Japan in the eyes of experts. Anyone can see that this Asian team is a certain level lower than Italy, Brazil and Türkiye - the 3 "sisters" of the current top volleyball world.

Volleyball today is not the same as it was in the 1960s and 1970s, when only Eastern European and East Asian countries were passionate about this team sport .

Since Europe entered the game, and black athletes began to join the professional training system, volleyball gradually became a game of measuring body shape, stature, arm span, leg span...

In the 1980s and 2000s, China emerged by applying the strategy of training Northern athletes who were as tall as Russians and Central Asians...

By the 2000s, more Western countries with large bodies such as the US, Brazil, and Italy joined the race. Brazilians in particular have excellent jumping power, which we are all too familiar with through soccer.

Japan makes a difference in the world of top volleyball - Photo: FIVB

In recent years, Italy has become even more "unrivaled" with two black stars, Egonu and Sylla. Egonu is 1m95 tall and has a spiking range of nearly 3.5m.

And obviously, every team has a few players taller than 1m90 to play the role of opposite passer and main attacker. Even Vietnam has a Thanh Thuy.

When the opponent serves, they score a clean point on the first serve. And the turning point to take the lead often comes from 1-2 blocks from such "poles".

In addition to his 3.44m hitting range, Egonu also has a blocking range of up to 3.21m. Too scary.

In the Chinese team, coach Zhao Yong has 12 athletes with a blocking range of over 3m, and except for the libero position, everyone has a hitting range of over 3.1m.

But because of those "poles", volleyball matches today have become monotonous. As long as the setter hits the ball in the right position, hitters like Egonu are unstoppable.

Most games lasted well past 20 points for both teams, and victory or defeat was often decided by just 1-2 successful blocks.

Japanese people create unique features

Amidst all that boredom and monotony, the Japanese appeared, saving the charm of volleyball, at least women's volleyball.

Why, simply because they are... "short". From generation to generation, the height of Japanese girls has been a fascinating and magical topic for top volleyball experts.

Mayu Ishikawa, Japan's number 1 volleyball star, is 1m74 tall, with a hitting range of only 3m, and a blocking range of only 2.9m.

Mayu is only 1m74 tall - Photo: FIVB

In theory, Mayu would never be able to beat the Chinese blockers, or any Western team, simply because her smash range is even worse than her opponent's block range.

But miraculously, until the eve of the final match, Mayu was the player with the most points in the tournament, with 128 points, higher than Gabi of Brazil and strong opponents from Italy, Turkey...

In the top 10 scorers, there is also Yoshino Sato - a beautiful girl like a doll with a height of 1m78 (considered the tallest in Japan), or Yukiko Wada - only 1m74 tall like Mayu.

With an average height of only 1m75, Japan is the shortest team in the tournament, and is 10-15cm taller than most of the other teams.

Not tall, so what do the Japanese do to defend? They do everything. From small drop shots, spin serves, tenacious defense, to flexible movements that are very difficult to master.

And above all, the ultimate weapon of the island nation of the rising sun is still the fighting spirit.

With that fighting spirit, Japan came from behind to defeat the Netherlands - the country with the highest height in the world, and made 5 extraordinary matches with Brazil.

Brazil led Japan 2-0 in the third-place play-off, a game few were keen to play. But the Japanese were different, they fought to the end.

Sato played extremely well against Brazil - Photo: SIAM

Japan equalized 2-2, then brought a dramatic battle in game 5, ultimately only losing with a score of 16-18.

All the Japanese girls played a beautiful match. Mayu Ishikawa was excellent as usual, Wada was strong as usual, Kojima was tenacious as usual...

And in particular, Yoshino Sato was incredibly excellent. The 23-year-old "doll" of the Japanese team was criticized in the semi-final, but came back strongly in the bronze medal match, scoring 34 points - an unbelievable number of points in a top match of the world championship.

All together they make up a strange team, completely different from the rest of the elite volleyball scene. Japan is resilient, resilient, and full of twists and turns.

To watch top level volleyball, you cannot miss the Japanese matches. Because there, fans can witness things that they usually do not see from other teams.

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/xem-bong-chuyen-khong-the-bo-qua-nhat-ban-20250907175913729.htm