Olympic Roundup: Japan Powers Past Argentina to Pick up 1st Win in Men's Volleyball Tourney

Japan beat Argentina 3-1 on Wednesday, July 31 for its first win of the Olympic men's volleyball tournament.

After losing its opening match to Germany, Japan was desperate for a win and produced a solid 25-16, 25-22, 18-25, 25-23 victory over the South Americans to improve to 1-1.

Kento Miyaura scored the winner at South Paris Arena with a powerful spike to close out the preliminary round Group C match.

Yuji Nishida led Japan with 21 points while Ran Takahashi had 14.

Facundo Conte paced Argentina with 19 points, including 17 kills.

Japan has medal aspirations in Paris, being both the world's current third-ranked team and the silver medalist at the 2024 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League.

The top two from each of the three pools and two best third-ranked teams reach the quarterfinals.

"This was a critical match for us here in Paris and we're so happy that we won," Japan setter Masahiro Sekita said after the match, according to Volleyball World. "We tried to change some things from the first match and that helped us win. [And] we had a lot of pressure coming into this match, but we handled it well and could have a good performance. The United States will be a strong opponent but we'll stick to our plan and the way we play."

A Look Ahead for Japan Men's Volleyball Squad

Japan next faces the United States on Saturday, August 3.

If Japan realizes its dreams of an Olympic medal, it will be the first for the men's national team since it won gold at the Munich Games in 1972.

Surfing

Japan's Inaba Advances to Olympic Quarterfinals

Japan's Reo Inaba reached the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympic Games surfing competition in Tahiti on Monday, July 29, but his countrymen Kanoa Igarashi, the Tokyo Games silver medalist, came up short and was eliminated.

Inaba totaled just 6.00 points in Round 3, with a best single-wave score of 3.17, but it was enough to beat his Brazilian opponent Felipe Toledo, who could only tally 2.46.

Igarashi, who was born in the US but represents Japan, received scores of 3.67 and 3.37 on his waves, but his challenger Gabriel Medina of Brazil scored a total of 17.40 points, including one spectacular run that scored a near-perfect 9.90.

Olympic Surfing: Half a World Away

The Olympics surfing event is taking place some 16,000 kilometers from Paris amid the thundering waves in Teahupo'o in Tahiti.

Teahupo'o is a village on the southeastern coast of the French Polynesian island in the South Pacific Ocean. 

Surfing made its debut at the Tokyo Games where the athletes desperately searched for waves on the Pacific Ocean coast side of Chiba Prefecture.

That's not the case this time. Teahupo'o has long been known for producing legendary waves and many international competitions have been held there over the past 30 years.

The waves can get so big in Teahupo'o that the International Surfing Association issued a statement in May recommending helmets for surfers. 

Igarashi agreed that helmets could save lives but opted not to wear one for the Round 3 competition on Monday.

Tahiti is the largest island in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Australia.

Soccer

Japan Cruises Into Quarterfinals in Soccer

Forward Mao Hosoya scored a late winner as Japan beat Israel 1-0 on Tuesday, July 30 to set up a quarterfinal showdown with Spain in the men's football tournament at the Paris Games.

The win allowed Japan to wrap up Group D play with three wins and no goals conceded.

Having beaten Paraguay 5-0 and Mali 1-0 in its first two outings, Japan had the group's top spot all but secured before the showdown with Israel at La Beaujoire Stadium in Nantes.

Desperately needing a win to advance, Israel came out on the attack and Oscar Gloukh tested Japan 'keeper LeoBrian Kokubo early in the first half.

Israel's Liel Abada and Adi Yona had solid chances after the break but Kokubo stood his ground to preserve the goalless draw.

Hosoya swept in Kein Sato's pass in injury time to seal the points.

Paraguay beat Mali 1-0 in the other Group D game to finish second and set up a last-eight showdown with Group C winner Egypt.

Table Tennis

Hirano Books a Spot in Quarterfinals

Popular Japanese Olympian Miu Hirano, the No 8 seed, triumphed in the third round of the Olympic women's singles tournament 4-0 over Hong Kong's unseeded Chengzhu Zhu on Wednesday, July 31.

With the 13-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-9 victory, Hirano advanced to play India's Manika Batra, the 18th-seeded entrant, in the quarterfinals.

Hirano, who made her Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games, was consistently efficient throughout the match, winning the four games in 10, 8, 8 and 10 minutes, respectively.

Furthermore, with seven consecutive points won in Game 2, Hirano firmly controlled the match and reduced the likelihood of a comeback by Zhu.

Freestyle BMX

Nakamura Finishes 5th in Men's Park Final

Rimu Nakamura earned a fifth-place finish in the men's freestyle BMX men's park final on Wednesday, July 31 at the La Concorde urban sports venue.

Nakamura also finished fifth in the event at the Tokyo Olympics.

On Wednesday, he received 90.89 points for his second run, his second attempt. The gold medalist, Argentina's Jose Torres Gil secured the win with 94.82 points.

Briefly…

In a women's badminton Group C group play stage match on Wednesday, Japan's Akane Yamaguchi defeated Canada's Michelle Li 22-24, 21-17, 21-12.

Yamaguchi, a two-time world champion, improved to 2-0 in the opening round.

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Authors: Jim Armstrong and Ed Odeven