If it had been the original schedule, the indoor volleyball finals for both men and women would have been held this weekend, and we would have been able to see the joy of the winning teams. However, as you know, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tokyo Olympics have been postponed for a year without changing the schedule, which is an unusual situation. However, I think there are some teams that have been somewhat saved by this postponement. So, this time, assuming that the Olympics will be held next year, I would like to divide the teams that have gained and lost out due to the postponement, based on my own arbitrary and biased opinion.
Tokyo Olympics participating teams
For now, let's review the teams (men's) that have been selected to participate in the Tokyo Olympics and their groupings.
* () indicates world ranking
Group A: Japan (10), Poland (3), Italy (4), Canada (7), Iran (8), Venezuela (36).
Group B: Brazil (1), USA (2), Russia (5), Argentina (6), France (9), Tunisia (22)
The winning team
Japan
Photo by FIVB
I think Japan, the host country, benefited from this. Although they were able to achieve good results in last year's World Cup, it is true that they still have many issues to address. In particular, I was concerned about the thinness of the outside player base and the reserve opposite. However, young players are emerging on the outside. I am particularly looking forward to Takahashi Ai, a first-year student at Nippon Sport Science University, who showed great performance in the Red vs. White game the other day. Not only is he a sharp spiker, but he also has a stable receive, and depending on how he develops this year, I think he will be able to aim for Ishikawa's diagonal. I have spoken to Takahashi Ai once, and I was very impressed with his personality, so I am personally rooting for him. I also have high hopes for Otsuka, a second-year student at Waseda University. I think that the fact that they have had a year to grow will be a great advantage for the Japanese team. As for the opposite, it will be a big deal that Shimizu has more time to adjust after his injury. He returned last year from a serious injury in 2018, but it will still take some time for him to fully recover. I hope that he can somehow improve his condition this year and be in top form next year. Nishida's backup, Otake, is still lacking in players. Shimizu's comeback is expected.
Canada
Photo by FIVB
Canada also had some injured players. Setter TJ Sanders. He has been suffering from back pain due to a childhood injury in recent years, and has not been able to play properly since 2018. He managed to play in this year's Olympic continental qualifying tournament and successfully won a ticket to the Olympics, but it was clear that he was not in top form. He will probably not be able to play for a club this year either. However, he is undoubtedly the person who has supported the good results of the Canadian national team in recent years, such as reaching the quarterfinals of the Rio Olympics in 2016 and placing third in the World League in 2017. I hope he can make full use of this grace period and make a full recovery.
Iran
Photo by FIVB
Their opposite, Gafour, was also injured. Last season, he was expected to play well for Serie A powerhouse Roubaix, but he ended the season with almost no appearances. (Instead, Luxembourgish opposite Lichritski has improved.) In this year's Olympic continental qualifiers, the Iranian national team qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, but they were lackluster, losing to South Korea in a full set. A strong Iran needs Gafour after all. Furthermore, we can expect growth from the members of the world junior championship team, such as Yari and Esfandiar.
America
Photo by FIVB
The team was also missing their main outside hitter, Taylor Sander, due to injury. The U.S. is a gold medal contender, and the return of Sander, who is key to both offense and defense, will be essential to winning the gold medal. He was unable to play for a club team last season due to his injury, but this season he transferred to the Polish powerhouse Skra Belchatow. I'm looking forward to seeing Anderson, Russell, and Sander lined up in the 1, 2, and 3 consecutive side positions again at the Tokyo Olympics.
Russia
Photo by CEV
Russia's problem is not with injured players, but with naturalized players. Following the trend of naturalized Cuban players taking the world by storm in Italy, Brazil, and Poland, Cuban Camejo, who currently plays for St. Petersburg, obtained Russian citizenship in 2018. He was scheduled to be able to play for Russia starting this year, but it will be difficult for him to join the team and play in the Olympic year. This will surely be a valuable year for the Russian national team and Camejo.
France
Photo by FIVB
France would have also benefited from the postponement, as Riner was injured. In addition to this, or rather the biggest problem, was the internal conflict between Ngapet and Boyer, which resulted in Boyer leaving the team. In the Tokyo Olympic continental qualifiers, the opposite was able to win with Patry holding his own. However, he is still not absolutely stable, so they need a reserve player, and it would have been difficult to get a new opposite to fit into the team in just over six months. I think the postponement will be a positive thing for France, as it gives them that extra time. However, there are concerns that this will delay the team's preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will be held in their own country.
The losing team
Poland, Italy, Brazil, Argentina
Photo by FIVB
Rather than saying that these teams lost out due to the postponement, it would be better to say that they were almost in perfect condition, but their rivals had time to recover, and that they lost out relatively. However, it may not have been bad for teams such as Poland's Leon and Brazil's Real, which have players who have naturalized and joined the team since last year. However, as for Italy, I am a bit worried about their main player, Juan Torena. It may be none of my business, but he was born in 1985 and will be 36 years old next year. Last season, he showed a spectacular performance that made him seem old, but I wonder how this year will affect him. As for Argentina, there is not much to say (laughs).
I don't know
Tunisia, Venezuela
I don't know much about these two teams, so I don't know. However, no matter how good their condition is, it will definitely be harder for these two teams to get through the group stage than it will be for the Japanese team.
summary
Looking at it this way, there are more teams than you would expect who will benefit from the postponement. In other words, it seems that we will be able to see a higher level of competition if the event is held next year than if it were held this year. However, it is not always the case that you can win when you are in perfect condition, and lose when you seem to be lacking something. In fact, at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Brazilian national team won the championship even though they were missing Mourio, who had led the team until then, due to injury. You never know what will happen. That's why sports are so interesting.
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