Eight teams arrive in Japan, but only four can go to Rio

All eight women’s volleyball teams are now in Japan, and the scene is set for seven days of intense competition with half of the teams destined to book a place at this year’s Rio Olympics.

Of the teams gathered in Tokyo, only one – Thailand – has never been to an Olympic Games. At the other end of the scale is host nation Japan, who has been to 11 Games, a record it shares with the United States.

The host nation, at fifth, is also the highest ranked team competing at the qualifiers, while 26th-ranked Kazakhstan is the outsider according to world rankings.

But Japan comes into these qualifiers off the back of a disappointing, by its lofty standards, 2015, which included a shock sixth at the Asian Volleyball Championships.

Italy is looking to qualify for its fifth consecutive Olympic Games, and 37-year-old Francesca Piccini has been to every one so far. She’s in Japan hoping to help guide the …

continue reading in source www.fivb.org