The Japanese team’s main striker scored 31 points, playing better than Türkiye’s top players. On the evening of May 15, the 2024 Nations League (VNL 2024) women’s volleyball event took place in Bangkok, Thailand. The tournament brought together top teams such as Türkiye, the US, Brazil, Italy… and also featured 4 Asian representatives including Japan, China, Thailand and South Korea.
On the opening day, the Japanese team (ranked 9th in the world) caused a stir when they defeated the world number 1, Turkey, after 5 intense sets. Japan won the first 2 sets with scores of 25-22 and 25-20. However, Turkey woke up and won the next 2 sets with scores of 25-19 and 25-23, bringing the match to a deciding set. In set 5, with Koga shining, Japan won the decisive victory 15-12.
Wearing the captain’s armband of the “Land of the Rising Sun”, Sarina Koga was the one who contributed the most to the recent victory. With her flexibility and intelligent playing ability, the 27-year-old hitter caused a lot of trouble for the Turkish defense.
The 1.8m main attacker scored 31 points, surpassing great players like Karakurt, Baladin (16 points) and Ivegin (19 points) to become the player with the best scoring efficiency of the match.
After the first round of matches, Japan is currently ranked 8th out of 16 participating teams with 2 points, followed by Türkiye with 1 point. China is leading the rankings with 3 absolute points (winning 3-0 against Korea), the Netherlands and Germany are ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively with 3 points. The next match takes place on May 16, Japan will face Bulgaria.
