The Japanese men's volleyball team held a press conference ahead of the world championships that will start later this month, and captain Yuki Ishikawa expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "We want to make this a tournament where we can prove Japan's strength with the aim of finishing in the top 8 or above."
The volleyball men's world championship, which is held once every four years, will be held in Poland and Slovenia from the 26th of this month, and 24 teams including representatives from each continent will participate.
The Japanese national team held an online interview on the 9th for the tournament, and director Philippe Blanc and 14 players talked about their aspirations.
Of these, captain Ishikawa expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "In recent international competitions such as the Tokyo Olympics, making the best eight has become a barrier. We want to make it a tournament where we can prove Japan's strength, with the goal of finishing in the top eight or better."
Coach Philippe Brun also said, ``The world rankings are rising, and Japan is definitely getting closer to the top of the world.
The tournament is first divided into 6 groups of 4 teams and plays a league match, and the top 16 teams advance to the final tournament.
Japan, ranked ninth in the world, is in the same group as Brazil, ranked 3rd in the world, Cuba, ranked 12th, and Qatar, ranked 21st.