At the Tokyo Olympics, the pair of Japanese players Yusuke Ishijima and Katsuhiro Shiratori at the beach volleyball men lost to the German pair in the third round, which is the final round on the 31st, and was eliminated from the qualifying league without even one win.
Still, 37-year-old Ishijima, who turned from volleyball to beach volleyball and was on the stage of the Olympics again, showed the appearance of "Gots" who had evolved on the stage of the Olympics.
Announcing "Gottsu !!" that echoed in the beach volleyball venue.
"Gots" is the nickname of Ishijima.
A strong spike from a "tough physique" with a height of 1 meter and 98 centimeters and a weight of 102 kilograms.
I think there are many fans who remember the appearance of exposing their fighting spirit and raising their swords.
Ishijima played an active part in the V-League of volleyball for many years and played as the center of the Japanese national team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics when he was 24 years old.
The result at this time was a total loss of 5 races in the qualifying league.
I left the Olympics without being able to win even once.
"I want to stand on that stage again."
However, at the 2012 London Games, the Japanese national team lost in the final qualifying round in the world and missed the right to participate.
The 32-year-old Ishijima, who became a veteran at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, was not selected as the representative of Japan in the qualifying due to the rise of young players, and could not even aim for that stage.
Immediately after the Rio de Janeiro Games, Ishijima made a big decision.
That is "turning to beach volleyball."
The background was the appearance of Shiratori, a leading Japanese player who participated in the beach volleyball tournament in Beijing, seven years older than Ishijima, chasing a muddy ball on the sand.
Ishijima said that he decided that "when I think about the Olympics, there is only Shiratori. If I can't do it, I'm done."
And then,
Ishijima decided to ask Shiratori himself to form a pair.
However, the road to the Olympics was not straightforward.
In volleyball, beach volleyball is said to be "similar and different sports" by Ishijima, who has a good track record.
Since the court is covered by two people, it plays many roles.
Not only do you decide the spikes yourself, but you can also run around on the hard-to-move sand to receive and toss your allies.
Improving the breadth and quality of such play has become a major issue for Ishijima.
There, he received advice from an experienced Shiratori player and achieved rapid growth, and reached the stage of the Olympic Games.
Evolved "Gots"
And the Olympics for the first time in 13 years.
Sunglasses for sunburn.
Its appearance has changed from the time of volleyball players, but the more powerful "Gots" is back.
"Gottsu" instead of "Ishijima" is displayed on the electric bulletin board at the venue.
Every time I scored, the announcement "Gottsu !!" echoed in the venue.
In addition to the powerful spikes that he was good at, he jumped into the sand court many times and stood up, shining a play full of character.
The final round of the qualifying league on the 31st.
The result was a straight loss and three consecutive losses, but it seemed to be the culmination of four years.
In this match, the Japanese pair took 20 points with spikes.
Of these, Ishijima scored only 5 points.
The opponent team was wary of Ishijima's strong spikes and aimed at Shiratori in the serve.
Shiratori is a serve receive, Ishijima is a toss, and Shiratori is a spike.
When he was a volleyball player, Ishijima, whose role was to score points as an ace, carefully raised the toss and "assisted" the score.
This figure that I showed many times was the evolution of Ishijima and a symbol of the play that I made with Shiratori and three-legged race.
Ishijima players
"were not even able to be one win this time also the last time, who this time there is a feeling of fulfilling. To myself still feel the growth, but none burned out. Want to continue as long as the passion is followed by"
think of to partners I cried when asked.
"I'm just grateful to Shiratori for helping me out where it wasn't smooth sailing, and for fighting with me." With
gratitude to the comrades who fought together.
And, in the call of "Gottsu", we will continue to move forward with the aim of winning the Olympic Games for the first time.