Dramatic comeback earns Japan FIVB Women’s Under 20 World Championship title in Mexico

Japan’s performance in the tournament has been formidable as they went through the competition unbeaten, bouncing back from a two-set deficit in The Final claim the gold medal.

The Italians looked set to claim the honours by going two set up but the Japanese stormed back to win 3-2 (23-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-19, 15-12)

The neck-to-neck battle lasted two hours and reached a tie-break with Japan leading in attacks 62-55 and 10-8 in aces, while Italy held a huge 16-7 blocking advantage. Japan scored on 31 opponent errors and committed 24. Five players scored double figures in Japan’s gold medal win, led by MVP Ishikawa Mayu with 19 points on 11 kills, 3 blocks and 5 unstoppable aces, followed by Soga Haruna with 18 points including 17 kills. Nishikawa Yuki and Yamada Nichika had 12 points each, while Hirayama Shion contributed with 10 points.

Italy’s scoring force came from Yassimina Kone with 18 points on 12 kills, 3 blocks and 3 aces, Ruth Enweonwu tallied 16 points, Marina Lubian scored 15 points and Alessia Populini registered 11 points.

Both Japan and Italy had advanced to the title match after winning five-set thrillers in their respective semi-finals. Japan overcame Russia 3-2 (18-25, 26-24, 25-13, 18-25, 15-12) and Italy bounced back from a two-set deficit to beat Turkey 3-2 (19-25, 24-26, 25-21, 25-16, 18-16).

In the Bronze Medal Match, Russia’s character and fierce attacks managed to prevail over Turkey 3-1 (25-22, 26-28, 25-19, 29-27) to finish in third place and win the bronze medal.

Poland finished in fifth place after defeating Brazil in five exciting sets 3-2 (25-19, 17-25, 14-25, 25-20, 15-10). 2017 Women’s Under 20 World Champions China finished in seventh place by defeating the United States 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-20).