Yuki Ishikawa urges Japan to ‘play hard’ in Ran Takahashi’s absence

By: Ernest Tuazon

Japan team captain Yuki Ishikawa urged his team to keep pushing themselves to maintain a high standard of volleyball play after fan favorite Ran Takahashi was ruled out for the remainder of the 2024 FIVB Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Manila match.

The Japan Volleyball Association announced that Shoma would replace Tomita Takahashi in the country’s VNL lineup ahead of their match against the Netherlands.

Philippine National Volleyball Federation president Tats Suzara told reporters that Takahashi left the Philippines due to a nagging knee injury.

“I can’t say much, but we have to play without him… With or without injury, and Ran (Takahashi), we still have to play hard all the time,” said Ishikawa.

‘He is not here. And today the most important thing is that we won, so we are happy.”

Ishikawa and Japan overcame Takahashi’s absence to fend off the Netherlands and return to the VNL win column, 25-18, 25-19, 25-15, on Friday evening at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The 28-year-old team captain praised Japan’s efforts to improve their playing style in their rebound win after a narrow five-set match loss against Canada.

“Today was an improvement for us as we lost to Canada, and we need to focus on our momentum and playing style, especially during the second sets. We won 3-0, so that’s an improvement for us.” he said.

The win boosted Japan’s chances of securing a ticket to the VNL quarter-finals with a 7–3 record, putting them in fifth place, level with Olympic hosts France.

Japan will next face France to break the tie in the VNL standings and further cement their spot in the Final Round tonight.