The talented men that will impress and inspire at the Olympic Qualification Tournament
Published 07:00, 01 Sept 2023
The world’s best men’s teams are heading to Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and Xi’An for the Volleyball Olympic Qualifying Tournament from September 30 to October 8, with the most talented athletes ready to fight for the six available spots for Paris 2024.
These men will put on a big show, so let’s find out the top 10 to watch at this year’s Olympic Qualification Tournament.
Ricardo Lucarelli (BRA)
The outside hitter will try to replicate his gold medal winning performance at Rio 2016 when he plays at the same city for the Olympic Qualification Tournament.
Daniele Lavia (ITA)
The world champion is not the flashy, big-play type of player, but he is effective and fast becoming a reliable source of offense for Italy from the left flank.
Ran Takahashi (JPN)
The outside hitter has earned his status among Japan’s elite, as he has shown outstanding offense and daredevil defense on many matches at the VNL this season.
Micah Christenson (USA)
The setter clinched a spot at the 2023 VNL Dream Team, commanding the United States squad to a silver medal finish.
Pawel Zatorski (POL)
The smallest guy on the Poland roster always had the biggest area to cover on defense; and to do it consistently and effortlessly make him genuinely deserving of the VNL MVP.
Agustin Loser (ARG)
The Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist middle blocker is a dual-threat player who made Argentina’s offense and defense better any time he is on the court.
Amin Esmaeilnezhad (IRI)
Iran’s left-handed opposite spikes and serves with a lot of power and precision, making him unstoppable on the offensive end.
Gregor Ropret (SLO)
His brilliant setting skills makes everything easy for his hitters to score and his consistency in running the plays for some of the world’s best hitters make Slovenia a strong contender.
Zhang Jingyin (CHN)
The outside hitter has been exceeding expectations and becoming China’s top option on offense with high efficiency on the attack, averaging in double figures at the 2023 VNL.
Wassim Be Tara (TUN)
The Tunisian and Sir Safety Perugia opposite is the only one in this list that did not see action at the VNL but has shown his scoring strength against the best teams at the Tokyo Olympics.
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