The Japanese men's volleyball team played their final warm-up match before the Paris Olympics against world number one Poland, winning 3-2 (23-25, 25-20, 25-19, 23-25, 17-15).
After the game, we spoke with outside hitter Ai Takahashi, who scored 21 points, second on the team, in his first game back since recovering from an injury in a month.
Toshiki: It's been about a month since your last match in the VNL Philippines. How did it feel to play after such a long time?
Ai: Yes, it had been a while since my last match, so I felt like I needed to fit in with the team and help build the team. I think I was able to maintain a very high quality today, in terms of whether I could show my condition in the match. Also, as a team, I was able to give the team confidence by saying "With Ai back, we have become an even stronger team", without any worries, so I think today's win and the fact that we were able to show strong Japanese volleyball made it a very good match that will lead to the Olympics.
Toshiki: What was your aim today playing against Poland, and how did it work out and lead to victory?
Ai: Poland is a tall team, so in terms of spikes, it was important to make sure we didn't drop the hit point and get rid of the blocks, and not make any mistakes. Also, they are a team with great serves, so the key was how we could withstand them on reception and get side-outs, and today we were able to withstand them on reception and get side-outs from the reception. Also, Nishida, Ishikawa, and myself all had good serves today, so I think we were able to break down Poland with our serves and not let them do what they wanted, which led to today's victory.
Toshiki: Tomorrow's match against Serbia has been cancelled, meaning today is the only match Ai can play since her return. How do you feel about that?
Ai: I wish we could have played one more game, but the fact that we played well against Poland has given me confidence. We shouldn't take the fact that we have fewer games as a negative, but since everyone played good volleyball in today's game, I think it's good that we can go into the Olympics with a good image in mind. And what each player is feeling most is that the Olympics are not that easy, so in order to win our first match against Germany, although we played really good volleyball today, we need to strive for quality in practice and focus on playing our best volleyball in the first match against Germany, which starts at 9am.
Toshiki: Unfortunately, we couldn't participate in the VNL Final, but the team came second and won the silver medal. It was our fourth silver medal, including the medals we won in Italy this year (Coppa Italia, CEV Challenge Cup, and Italian League).
Ai: Yes, there are a lot (laughs). But of course, my goal at the Paris Olympics is to win a gold medal. That's my goal, and so is the team, so I think we should win it, and we have the power to do so, and we're confident in that, so our goal is definitely to win the gold medal. It really is a game by game, and I don't think we can make it to the finals unless we win the qualifiers, so I want to do my best to win each game and aim for the gold medal.
Toshiki: Personally, is there anything you would like to improve on in the next week?
Ai: Of course, there is the issue of condition, so I need to take good care of it, and from here on out, it's most important to work on my jumping ability and get my body back in shape so that I can perform at my best, so of course I also need to improve the quality of my play, and I want to strive for quality in every aspect.
TOSHIKI: Is (Takahashi) Kentaro okay?
Ai: We can only pray that he's okay. To be honest, I didn't know what had happened, so I think the team will contact me later, but since he's Kentaro, I just hope that he comes back safely.
*This is only a part of the video interview, and there are some parts of the video that are very noisy.
Photo: Author
[PR] "ALL for DREAM -Footsteps to Glory- Japan Volleyball National Team Nations League 2024" will be available on U-NEXT from July 27th (Sat.)
A documentary program that closely follows the unknown behind-the-scenes of the "Volleyball Nations League 2024" and traces the fierce battles will be streamed on U-NEXT.
[Distribution date and time]
July 27th (Saturday) 5pm Boys #1 Boys #2
August 3rd (Saturday) 5pm Women's #1
Saturday, August 10th 5pm Women's #2
Saturday, August 24th 5pm Men's #3
Saturday, August 31st 5pm Women's #3
September 7th (Saturday) 5pm Men's #4
Saturday, September 14th 5pm Women's #4
(Quoted from TBS TV release)
U-NEXT offers a 30-day free trial! Click the banner below to sign up!
English 
Japanese