The Japanese men’s volleyball team, which advanced to the Nations League Final Round and arrived in Poland, the site of the showdown, held an official practice at the venue for the actual match (Atlas Arena) for approximately an hour and a half starting at 2:30 p.m. local time on the 26th.

Although there were smiles during the warm-up of the two-ball game, the training was held in a tense atmosphere from start to finish. Ai Takahashi (22), who was on the reserves after the match against Canada due to injury, had a completely different menu, and did not do any jump training, only participated in serve reception. At the end, they did a 6-on-6 game training, trying out various variations.

Regarding the practice at the actual match venue, middle blocker Akira Yamauchi (30) said, “It’s a large arena, the type of venue we don’t have in Japan. Volleyball is very popular in Poland, and we’re expecting a lot of spectators, so we’d like to gradually make adjustments during the match.”

The first match of the final round will be against Canada at midnight on the 28th, Japan time. Captain Yuki Ishikawa (28) said, “We didn’t play very well in the qualifying round (which we lost), but if Canada gets on a roll, they’re a strong team that can beat Brazil 3-0.” He expressed his strong enthusiasm, saying, “If you lose in the final round, it’s over. Our goal is to go to the final, so we want to fight with all our might to achieve that goal.”

The draw for the Paris Olympics was held at the venue on the same day, and Japan, ranked second in the world, was placed in Pool C with the United States, Argentina, and Germany. After the draw, left-handed ace Yuji Nishida (24) said, “We avoided the worst possible outcome, but we still need to be on our toes. The Olympics are finally starting to take shape, and I’m excited. I can’t wait.” Takahashi Ai also said, “I can imagine Argentina and Germany winning, but I don’t have that image of the United States, so it will be a tough match. We’ve been working hard for the Paris Olympics, so I want to do my best to win a medal.”