The 2023 Men's Volleyball Asian Championship is being held in Urmia (Iran). On Wednesday, August 23rd local time, the Japanese national team faced Bahrain in the first round of the final tournament and won 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-17).
After the match, opposite player Nishida Yuto gave us some comments.
-How do you feel looking back on today's game?
Nishida: I think it's good that we were able to win by focusing on what we need to do, not on what we should do at the start of the tournament. It's not that we made more mistakes, but we need to improve the quality of the parts, like our serves, in the next match. It's a difficult environment to ask if everyone is in top condition, so I want to support the team and continue to play at a good level.
-How are you feeling personally?
Nishida: I think it's fine for everyone to see and evaluate it, but I think my performance is coming back, and I'm getting better at controlling my serves when I need to, and attacking when I need to, so I hope that will gradually come back. Above all, I'm getting rebounds with my spikes, and although it's strange to say that my field of vision has returned, I think it's become easier to see, so although I didn't do that before, I think I've added new plays to my game.
- Nishida received the most cheers at the venue in Iran.
Nishida: It's definitely popular with men (laughs). More so than women. Well, since it's a match in Iran, I think volleyball will be very popular, but if we make it to the finals and play against Iran, I think everyone will become enemies, but even so, I want to enjoy myself here and do my best until the end.
-When I asked local people, it seems that Nishida is also the most popular among women.
Nishida: Really?! I don't think women would call out to me like, "Nishida!" (laughs). It's a bit strange, but I'm really happy that so many people have supported me.
-Please say a few words about the semi-finals and finals.
Nishida: I think that in terms of condition, we can all prepare to perform better, so even though we have time to practice and do other things after this, I want to prepare myself so that I can perform well even in this difficult environment.
[Re-upload] After the match against Bahrain in the Asian Championship # Nishida Yuji Player Comments ① # Volleyball #Ryujin NIPPON pic.twitter.com/2ZBKNLHe1C
— TOSHIKI (@toshikit71) August 26, 2023
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