The Japanese men's volleyball team started this year's Olympic Games with two defeats and one win. In the group stage, Philippe Blaine's team had to admit superiority to Germany 2:3 (17:25, 25:23, 25:20, 28:30, 12:15) and the USA 1:3 (16:25, 18:25, 25:18, 19:25), while Argentina was not beaten, beating them 3:1 (25:16, 25:22, 18:25, 25:13). Japan thus took third place in Group C and advanced to the knockout stage of the Olympic Games in Paris.
Moving images in the quarterfinal match of the volleyball team at the Olympic Games. The Japanese did not forget about their colleague
In the quarter-finals, they faced Italy – four-time world champions and two-time European champions. Before this clash, there were some beautiful images. A moving video appeared on social media. It shows a photo of Naonobu Fujii, who died last year, who was placed on the bench of the Japanese team.
“But it's beautiful, it moved me so much… On the bench of the Japanese national team there is a photo of the recently deceased playmaker… Naonobu Fujii. If he were alive, he would be in this team, he would be playing in Paris. He is still an important part of this team and this whole community,” wrote Jakub Balcerzak on the X website.
Naonobu Fujii He died on March 10, 2023, at the age of 31. He suffered from cancer. The former volleyball player played for the Toray Arrows club from the 2013-2014 season and helped the team win the Japanese championship. He also won the national cup twice. He also did well in the national team. In 2017, he took first place with the national team in the Asian championship.
After three sets, the Japanese team was leading against Italy 2:1 (25:20, 25:23, 25:27).