Asian Games 2023: Indian men's volleyball team crash out after quarter-final defeat to Japan

Ashwal Rai is India’s highest scorer in the competition.

The Indian men’s volleyball team crashed out of the Asian Games 2023 after defeat to Asia’s top ranked side Japan in the quarterfinals of the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023. Japan, World No. 5, defeated India in straight sets (25-16, 25-18, 25-17) and maintained their unbeaten record against the blue colts in the Continental Games. The possibility of a podium finish for the underdogs came to an end after putting up a tough battle with the match lasting close to 90 minutes.

However, the Indian team will be playing in the classification match (5th-6th) and shall look to finish as high as fifth in the coming days. Despite their exit from the medal race, the Indian men’s volleyball team had a phenomenal outing in the quadrennial extravaganza. The Blue Colts successfully defeated superior ranked teams like South Korea and Chinese Taipei before losing to Japan.

Japan had firm control throughout the encounter and never let India surge ahead. India held onto a maximum of two-points lead at maximum and Japan sensing danger would pounce back to reduce deficit. Out of the three sets, the second one turned out to be the best for India, where they scored 18 points against Japan’s 25.

Despite the best efforts by the Indian star players – Erin Verghese and Ashwal Rai, Japan didn’t struggle much to clinch the semifinal spot. Kerala’s Verghese and Ashwal Rai were the top scorers for India while Keihan Takahashi from the opposition single-handedly scored 21 points, followed by Masahiro Yanagida, who scored 14 points.

Indian team’s charismatic performance in the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023 will boost their chances going forward in the future. But for now, will be competing to finish as high as possible and finish the campaign on a high.