Indian volleyball team ranking

Rank	Teams		Matches			Result Details							Sets			Points
			Total	Won	Lost	3-0	3-1	3-2	2-3	1-3	0-3	Points	Won	Lost	Ratio	Won	Lost	Ratio
1	Qatar		3	2	1	2	0	0	1	0	0	7	8	3	2.666	257	234	1.098
2	Korea		3	2	1	1	0	1	1	0	0	6	8	5	1.600	299	282	1.060
3	Australia		3	2	1	0	1	1	0	0	1	5	6	6	1.000	272	280	0.971
4	India		3	0	3	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	1	9	0.111	218	250	0.872

Indian volleyball team: coach and players

 

Coach : Garudapuram Essnipadi Sridharan

 

Assistant coach : Naresh Kumar

 

 

Captain  : Vinit Kumar

Birth Date

25/02/1991

Weight

85 kg

Height

196 cm

G K S Ammal Akhin

Birth Date

24/03/1991

Weight

97 kg

Height

204 cm

Amit Amit

Birth Date

25/04/1998

Weight

76 kg

Height

194 cm

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh

Birth Date

19/07/1991

Weight

194 kg

Height

95 cm

Gagan Kumar Kumar

Birth Date

29/07/1999

Weight

87 kg

Height

196 cm

Kamlesh Khatik

Position

Libero

Birth Date

07/10/1991

Weight

82 kg

Height

176 cm

Ajithlal Chandran

Birth Date

14/02/1996

Weight

69 kg

Height

192 cm

Sinha Deepesh Kumar

Birth Date

20/05/1993

Weight

80 kg

Height

199 cm

Midhun Kumar Balasubramaniayn

Position

Libero

Birth Date

24/03/1994

Weight

65 kg

Height

178 cm

Jerome Vinith Charles

Birth Date

26/06/1992

Weight

95 kg

Height

198 cm

Ukkrapandian Mohan

Birth Date

15/05/1986

Weight

89 kg

Height

193 cm

Shon Thanghalathil John

Birth Date

05/01/1997

Weight

81 kg

Height

193 cm

Ashwal Rai

Birth Date

02/02/1993

Weight

87 kg

Height

202 cm

Karthik Ashok

Birth Date

24/01/1995

Weight

83 kg

Height

200 cm

 

 

TEAM OF THE WEEK: PAVAN & HUMANA-PAREDES

Lausanne, Switzerland

On top of the world in more ways than one, the reigning world champions, 2019 Most Outstanding Women’s Team and current FIVB World Ranking leaders Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes of Canada are Volleyball World's Team of the Week.

Sarah Pavan was born into a family of volleyballers in August 1986 and is just about to turn 34 years of age. Like most beach volleyball players, the 1.96m blocker started off with indoor volleyball in her childhood years, and rose up the ranks to become a member of the Canadian national team.

Following her Olympic dream, in 2013 Pavan switched to the sand, pairing up with Heather Bansley, and they made it happen. Three years later, the pair played at the Rio Olympics, where they did not lose a single set before their quarterfinal encounter with champions-to-be Laura Ludwig & Kira Walkenhorst of Germany.

"The Olympics is something I've been pursuing my entire life. It has been the ultimate goal since I was old enough to comprehend what it really meant.  If I didn't try beach volleyball I knew I would regret it for the rest of my life," Pavan told CBC at the time. "But at the last Olympics it was incredibly disappointing to miss a medal. For the longest time, just getting there was the goal. It was elusive for so long. But then you get there and it's crazy how quickly your goals evolve."

On the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, Pavan & Bansley achieved six medal finishes, but never quite managed to top the podium. For Sarah it happened soon after the pair split up and she joined forces with Melissa Humana-Paredes.

27-year-old Humana-Paredes was born in 1992 in Canada into a family of Chilean expatriates. Her father Hernan Humana, a former member of his country’s indoor national team, started coaching beach upon moving to Canada and led a Canadian men’s duo to Olympic bronze in 1996.

“I was four years old then and beach volleyball, the Olympic journey and the Olympic dream were influencing my life,” the 1.75m-tall defender said. “That’s how I got started and that’s what sparked my journey in the game.”

Humana-Paredes started playing beach volleyball at the age of 12. From 2009 through 2014, she represented Canada at a number of Age-Category FIVB World Championships, winning one silver and two bronze medals. She debuted on the World Tour in 2011, but it was not before 2014 when Melissa Humana-Paredes & Taylor Pischke became regulars.

It was only after teaming up with Sarah Pavan, however, that Melissa won her first World Tour medal. That was a 2017 Rio de Janeiro four-star silver at their second appearance on the Tour as a pair.

"Four years ago I was just stoked to be given the opportunity to play with Sarah. I had a lot I wanted to prove, but I wasn't sure how I was going to rise to the occasion. Our development as a team and my development as an athlete surprised me, and continue to surprise me, mostly with how quickly we gelled and how quickly we began fine-tuning our game," Humana-Paredes added. "I honestly think our first tournament in Brazil in 2017 was pretty eye-opening because our very first time playing together at the World Tour Finals in 2016 was a bit of a mess. We put in serious work in that off-season, but we didn't have anything to measure our progress up against. So when we began competing and beating good teams in Rio, I felt we were definitely headed in the right direction.”

Pavan and Humana-Paredes did not have to wait much longer to win their first World Tour title. Some six weeks later, they topped the Porec Major five-star podium.

“Our first gold was an absolute dream. Winning no longer became just a possibility, but a goal and standard," Humana-Paredes said.

The Canadian team became final four regulars and over the course of three seasons compiled an impressive World Tour showcase of five gold, four silver and one bronze and peaked at the 2019 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in Hamburg, where they claimed the title after beating USA’s 2-0 (23-21, 23-21) in the final.

“2019 was definitely a dream season,” Pavan exclaimed. “We were able to achieve one of our biggest athletic goals in becoming world champions and made history in the sport in our country. Winning some other key events along the way as well made 2019 a year to remember. I think our team really settled into a place of comfort in our relationships and routines, and that made a really big difference for us on the court. We had some ups and downs during the World Championship, we had our backs against the wall in the semifinal, but we always found a way to fight through and come out on top. Pulling from that experience in Hamburg will serve us in a big way in future events, especially during the tough moments.”

Winning the World Championship gold also qualified a Canadian pair for the Tokyo 2020 Games.

“The winning feelings have made us hungrier and more focused ahead of Tokyo,” said Humana-Paredes. “Heading in as world champs, it's easy to pick us as the favourites, but I think there are many teams in the top 10 that could also be selected as favourites in their own right. The only thing we can do is just focus on what we can do better, because that's all that we can control."

"We’re very happy that we have our spot in the Olympics,” Pavan commented in an interview for Beach Inside. “I know that many teams are really stressed right now and I’m just very grateful that this is something we don’t have to think about. Just knowing we’re going no matter what is nice.”

The coronavirus pandemic temporarily put a stop to the team's quest and postponed the Olympics by a year, but the Canadian standouts recently made their comeback winning a silver and two bronze medals on USA’s AVP Champions Cup three-stop tour in July and August.

AMIT GULIA HOPES FOR INDIA’S VOLLEYBALL RENAISSANCE

 

India's Amit Gulia

Lausanne, Switzerland, June 27, 2020 – Amit Gulia is optimistic that recent age-group achievements could help spark a renaissance in Indian volleyball.



India has a rich history in volleyball and has enjoyed several successes at the continental level, collecting a silver and two bronze medals at the Asian Games. The South Asian team, however, is now seeking to end a 34-year medal drought.

Last year, the Indians took a first step in the right direction when they collected a medal at the Asian Men’s U23 Championship in Naypyidaw, Myanmar. Captain Amit Gulia played an integral part in the team’s successful run. He was the team’s top scorer, recording double-digit outputs in all his matches to claim a podium finish as runners-up.

Amit made his senior team debut in 2018, when India competed at the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. After that, his Asian Men’s U23 Championship performance earned him a spot in the senior team that won gold at the South Asian Championship in Nepal. He also saw action at the Tokyo Continental Olympic Qualification Tournament in China.

“I played at the Asian Games in 2018, the Asian Men’s Championship, Asian Men’s U23 Volleyball Championship and the South Asian Games in 2019, and the AVC Continental Olympic Qualification Tournament this year,” the 22-year-old said.

“In terms of medals, I have won a gold medal at the South Asian Games and for the first time in our history, we finished as runners-up at the Asian Men’s U23 Volleyball Championship.”



Amit’s proudest moment was being selected as a starter in the Olympic Qualification Tournament. Even though the team did not qualify for Tokyo 2020, the young Indian outside hitter gave it his best shot, as the team’s leading scorer.

“The biggest success in my career so far is to be selected in India’s starting six at the Olympic Qualification Tournament, which is a very important tournament for any team. I was also my team’s best scorer.”

He has come a long way in a relatively short span of time, with the help of his coaches who urged him to keep going until he earned a spot in the national team.

“I started playing volleyball in 2008 when I was ten years old. I had many coaches who motivated me a lot to keep going with volleyball. They constantly encouraged me to reach my dreams.

“First, I was playing at the school level, then at university level until I finally found my way into the national level. I practised a lot to be able to reach my full potential and to play for my country.

“All of these things need commitment. And at every stage I was involved in, I always tried my best to show quality in my performance. When I was young, I always focused on playing at the national team level. As you grow older, you play at a higher level which requires you to be more technical and professional.”



Amit has big dreams and hopes he can go some way to following in the steps of his idol, Olympic gold medallist and former world champion Giba of Brazil.

“My volleyball idol is Giba of Brazil,” he said. “I wish one day India will be able to participate in the Olympic Games. Volleyball has big potential in India. We have a lot of talented volleyball athletes.”

For now he is working on his own game and trying to become one of the country’s leading players.

“I am playing at a national club and I am trying to gain as many supporters as possible before moving up into the international arena. I am putting all my focus right now on elevating my skills and improving the quality of my game to be able to participate in more international events.”

Indian women's volleyball team won gold in SAG

India swept the volleyball gold medals in the South Asian Games by winning both the men's and women's titles on Tuesday. India defeated Pakistan 20-25, 25-15, 25-17 and 29-27 in a hard-fought men's volleyball summit clash to defend the gold they had won at home in the 2016 edition. The Indian team came back strongly after a set down and won the next three to emerge winners. The bronze medal went to Sri Lanka. In the women's final, the defending champions had to toil hard to beat hosts Nepal in a five-setter to clinch the gold. India won 25-17, 23-25, 21-25, 25-20 and 15-6. The women's bronze medal also went to Sri Lanka.

OLYMPIC GAMES TOKYO 2020

VOLLEYBALL READY FOR OLYMPIC HOMECOMING
AT TOKYO 2020 #1YEARTOGO








Lausanne, Switzerland, July 24, 2019 - The FIVB has promised a volleyball homecoming party
one year from today when the sport returns to its Olympic birthplace, alongside beach volleyball,
at Tokyo 2020.

Volleyball was first included in the Olympic Games at Tokyo 1964 and cemented its place in the hearts of the Japanese public when their women’s national team won Olympic gold and their
men’s team secured bronze. Known as the ‘Witches of the Orient’ for their spellbinding performances, the Japanese women’s team’s final against the Soviet Union in 1964 was 

watched by more than two thirds of the entire country.

The Japanese men’s team reached the pinnacle of the sport eight years later when they won
gold at the Munich 1972 Olympic Games and in 1976 in Montreal the women’s team also
returned to the top of the podium. Japan ranks as the fourth most successful Olympic
volleyball nation, with three gold, three silver and three bronze medals.


Since its debut in 1964 volleyball has grown to become one of the most popular sports at the
Olympic Games. Volleyball and beach volleyball events completely sold out the last two
Olympic Games, and volleyball was the number one sport by accumulated hours of
iewership at Rio 2016, according to the IOC Data report.



Brazil celebrate winning gold at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games


The FIVB is looking to build on this success and there is no reason why volleyball and beach
volleyball will not sell out once again in Tokyo. Volleyball remains one of Japan’s most loved
sports. A recent national survey reported that 35 percent of people between 12 and 21 are
looking forward to watching the sport more than any other in 2020.


"There is a great historical connection between the FIVB and Japan and we want to celebrate
that in Tokyo,” FIVB President Dr. Ary S. Graça F° said, “It is a wonderful opportunity to
connect our sport’s illustrious past with the exciting future that we are creating.”

For both volleyball and beach volleyball the FIVB is continuing to lead the way in developing
pioneering fan engagement, entertainment and sports presentation initiatives to ensure the
very best experience at its competitions. With courtside DJs and MCs, as well as instant
replays broadcast in the arena, fans can easily follow the narrative in each match and
become an integral part of creating an up-tempo, exciting atmosphere. For those watching
around the world, the FIVB’s partnership with IMG has raised the quality of television
production and introduced the Federation’s first Over-The-Top (OTT) streaming service, 

Volleyball TV.

In Tokyo, national teams will compete in the Ariake Arena, a brand new stadium, purpose-built
for the Olympic Games. As a permanent venue, there are additional legacy benefits that the
12,000-seater stadium will provide to local residents and businesses. Aside from hosting
volleyball, the Arena will be utilised for other sporting events, concerts and conventions.
Beach volleyball matches will take place at the spectacular Shiokaze Park on the Tokyo
waterfront.





The packed beach volleyball venue at Rio 2016


“When the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee decided to invest in the Ariake Arena, it was a great
day for the FIVB and Japanese volleyball,” President Graça said. “This state-of-the-art stadium will
inspire the next generation of Japanese volleyball players, not just during the Games but for years
to come.”

OLYMPIC GAMES TOKYO 2020

FIVB SENIOR WORLD RANKINGS UPDATED AHEAD OF TOKYO 2020






Brazil stay top of the Men's FIVB Senior World Ranking following their victory at the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup in Japan.


Lausanne, Switzerland, October 22, 2019 - The Senior World Rankings have been updated following the men's and women's FIVB Volleyball World Cup for their last iteration ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The rankings will crucially determine the seeding of teams for Tokyo 2020 once the qualification process is completed in January.

The current Senior Men's World Ranking was released on October 15, following the World Cup in Japan and sees Brazil remain at No. 1 and USA stay at No. 2. Poland, however, on the basis of their silver medal, have moved up one spot to replace Italy in third place.








The latest Senior Women's World Ranking, which was updated on September 29 also following the World Cup, had former leaders Serbia drop two places to third, with China and USA each moving up a spot to take positions 1 and 2.









Amongst others, FIVB Rankings are used to determine the eligibility of teams for participation in certain events, as well as for the seeding position of teams in pool play where such placings are required.

The current Senior World Rankings consider the Olympic Games and Qualification Tournaments (every four years), the World Cup (every four years) and the FIVB Volleyball World Championships and Qualification Tournaments (also every four years). Until the competitions were discontinued in 2017, FIVB Volleyball World League and FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix results also counted towards the World Rankings (every year) and points from the 2017 editions remain a part of the current World Rankings not to interfere with an Olympic qualification process in the middle of the four-year Olympic cycle building towards Tokyo 2020. The Senior World Ranking will include points from the World League and World Grand Prix until December 31, 2020.



The core teams in the FIVB Volleyball Nations League are automatically granted a place in the competition and participating teams do not currently earn points towards the Senior World Rankings.

OLYMPIC GAMES TOKYO 2020

TOKYO 2020 OLYMPIC GAMES QUALIFICATION PROCESS - VOLLEYBALL





Hosts Brazil defeated Italy to claim gold at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016


Lausanne, Switzerland, January 31, 2020 - Find out how the men's and women's volleyball teams reached the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

MEN'S QUALIFICATION


As hosts, Japan were the first country to qualify for the Olympics.


The winners from each of the six FIVB Tokyo Volleyball Qualification tournaments from August 9-11, 2019 (Brazil, USA, Italy, Poland, Russia, Argentina) joined them with five further teams coming from the winners of each Continental Tokyo Volleyball Qualification tournament from January 5-12 (Africa: Tunisia, Asia: Iran, Europe: France, NORCECA: Canada and South America: Venezuela)


The six intercontinental Olympic qualification tournaments in August 2019 featured the top 24 teams in the world rankings split across six pools of four teams which were played in Varna (Bulgaria), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Bari (Italy), Gdansk (Poland), St. Petersburg (Russia) and Ningbo (China). The continental qualification tournaments in January 2020 were played in Cairo (Egypt), Jiangmen (China), Berlin (Germany), Vancouver (Canada) and Santiago (Chile).

Men's teams qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games(1) Host country: Japan
(2) FIVB Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - Varna: Brazil

(3) FIVB Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - Rotterdam: USA

(4) FIVB Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - Bari: Italy

(5) FIVB Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - Gdansk: Poland

(6) FIVB Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - St. Petersburg: Russia

(7) FIVB Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - Ningbo: Argentina

(8) Continental Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - AVC: Iran

(9) Continental Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - CAVB: Tunisia

(10) Continental Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - CEV: France

(11) Continental Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - CSV: Venezuela

(12) Continental Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - NORCECA: Canada



Competition Formula:


After the 12 qualified teams were confirmed following the Continental Tokyo Volleyball Qualification tournaments in January, the teams were split into two pools for the volleyball tournament at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Click here for more information.


WOMEN'S QUALIFICATION



The women's competition at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games was dominated by China.






As hosts, Japan were the first country to qualify for the Olympics.


Japan were joined by the six winners of the FIVB Tokyo Volleyball Qualification tournaments played from August 2-4, 2019 (Serbia, China, USA, Brazil, Russia, Italy) and by the five winners of each Continental Tokyo Volleyball Qualification tournament (Africa: Kenya, Asia: Korea, Europe: Turkey, NORCECA: Dominican Republic and South America: Argentina).


The six intercontinental Olympic

qualification tournaments in August 2019 featured the top 24 teams in the world rankings split across six pools of four teams which were played in Wroclaw (Poland), Ningbo (China), Shreveport-Bossier City (USA), Uberlandia (Brazil), Kaliningrad (Russia), Catania (Italy). The continental qualification tournaments in January 2020 were played in Yaounde (Cameroon), Nakhon Ratchasima (Thailand), Apeldoorn (Netherlands), Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) and Bogota (Colombia).



Women's teams qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games



(1) Host country: Japan
(2) FIVB Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - Wroclaw: Serbia

(3) FIVB Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - Ningbo: China

(4) FIVB Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - Shreveport-Bossier City: USA

(5) FIVB Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - Uberlandia: Brazil

(6) FIVB Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - Kaliningrad: Russia

(7) FIVB Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - Catania: Italy

(8) Continental Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - AVC: Korea

(9) Continental Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - CAVB: Kenya

(10) Continental Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - CEV: Turkey

(11) Continental Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - CSV: Argentina

(12) Continental Tokyo Volleyball Qualification - NORCECA: Dominican Republic



Competition Formula:


After the 12 qualified teams were confirmed following the Continental Tokyo Volleyball Qualification

tournaments in January, the teams were split into two pools for the volleyball tournament at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Click here for more information.


Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will be held in the Japanese capital from July 24 to August 9. Both the volleyball and the beach volleyball competitions will get underway on July 25, the morning after the Opening Ceremony, which will be held at the Olympic Stadium. All volleyball matches will be played at the 15,000-seat Ariake Arena with the men's final on July 25 and the women's on July 26. Beach volleyball will be played at Shiokaze Park with the finals taking place on August 7 (women) and August 8 (men).

OLYMPIC GAMES TOKYO 2020

POOLS CONFIRMED FOR TOKYO 2020 OLYMPIC VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT






The women’s national team of Japan in action during the 2019 FIVB World Cup


Lausanne, Switzerland, January 31, 2020 – The pool composition for the men's and women’s volleyball tournaments at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has been confirmed. The 12 qualified teams per gender have been split into two single round robin pools of six, with the top four in the standings of each pool to advance to the quarterfinals.


The teams were assigned to pools in line with the serpentine method, with hosts Japan placed in the first position in Pool A and the remaining squads ordered by their positions in the FIVB World Ranking.









In the women’s tournament, reigning world and European champions and 2016 Olympic silver medallists Serbia, two-time Olympic champions Brazil, as well as the teams of Korea, Dominican Republic and Kenya will be in the company of hosts Japan, two-time Olympic gold medallists themselves, in Pool A.






Three-time Olympic champions China will start the defence of their 2016 title in Pool B, where they will compete against back-to-back VNL gold medallists USA, the most decorated team in Olympic history – Russia, 2018 World Championship runners-up Italy, as well as Argentina and Turkey.










Women's Teams - Pools A and B









2016 Olympic champions China pose with their gold medals on the Rio podium

eam of Japan, 1972 Olympic champions, are also set to go up against the champions of the world in Pool A of their tournament. In addition to 1976 gold medallists Poland, the hosts will face 2016 Olympic silver medallists Italy, as well as Canada, Iran and Venezuela.


In Pool B, three-time Olympic champs Brazil will defend their Rio gold playing against three-time podium toppers USA, four-time gold medallists and reigning VNL champions Russia and the teams of Argentina, France and Tunisia.






Men's Teams - Pools A and B




2016 Olympic gold medallists Brazil triumph with the title at home in Rio


In the quarterfinals, each pool winner will meet the fourth-placed team from the other pool, while a draw will determine the opponents of the second-placed and the third-placed teams which will be from the other pool as well.

OLYMPIC GAMES TOKYO 2020

ARIAKE ARENA UNVEILED AS VOLLEYBALL PREPARES FOR RETURN TO OLYMPIC BIRTHPLACE








Lausanne, Switzerland, February 4, 2020 – The Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) staged a grand opening ceremony last weekend to unveil the brand new Ariake Arena, host venue of the Olympic volleyball event at this year’s Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

The Ariake Arena is a new waterfront venue which, from 25 July to 9 August, will become home to 24 of the world’s best national volleyball teams. The arena has a seating capacity of up to 15,000 spectators and is sure to be packed throughout the Games as stars compete for a place on the podium and a chance to write their names into the history books.


The Arena has been designed with the spectator in mind and is accessible to all, including the elderly, people with impairments, people with guide dogs and parents with young children. The venue also includes solar panels and geothermal heat equipment to reduce the facility’s carbon footprint.


Having first appeared on the Olympic Programme at Tokyo 1964, volleyball is once again set to be one of the most eagerly anticipated sports at this year’s Games.


The ceremony was opened with the traditional snip of the red ribbon by the Tokyo Governor, Yuriko Koike, who was joined by the Minister for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, Seiko Hashimoto, and President of the Japanese Olympic Committee, Yasuhiro Yamashita. Among the distinguished guests were iconic Tokyo 2020 mascot duo Miraitowa and Someity, who posed for photos with members of the crowd, who had gathered outside to witness the opening.


After the new stadium was unveiled, Japan’s national volleyball team enthralled more than 3,000 lucky spectators, who became the first members of public to step into the venue. The team offered an impressive volleyball demonstration, whetting the appetite of Japan’s passionate volleyball fan base.


FIVB President Dr Ary S. Graça F stated:

“This is another important milestone as preparations continue in the build up to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Our athletes are training hard for this iconic event and I am pleased that they will get to experience another world class venue. With Japan having a great volleyball tradition and Tokyo being the Olympic birthplace of our sport, I am sure we will enjoy an electric atmosphere at the packed Ariake Arena.


“I would like to congratulate the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games for creating such a fantastic arena, which I believe will inspire the next generation of volleyball athletes in Japan.”

Ahead of the Games, Ariake Arena will host its first-ever volleyball event, as four teams per gender are set to test the world-class facilities from 21to 26 April, just a few months before the Games.

Last month’s Continental Tokyo Volleyball Qualification 2020 events confirmed the final volleyball line-up set to compete at this year’s Games. A total of 12 teams per gender qualified and have been split into two single round-robin pools of six. At the end of each pool, the top four will advance to the quarterfinals for a chance to secure Olympic glory.

Source: fivb.com