Road to Paris 2024: Olympic Qualifiers started today! All results

The Men’s FIVB Road to Paris, Olympic Qualifiers started today, Saturday, September 30, and will continue until Sunday, October 8. With six spots available for next year’s Olympic Games, this nine-day tournaments promises thrilling action across three venues situated in Brazil, China, and Japan.

In details, a total of 24 elite national teams will compete for a chance to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympics, divided into three groups of eight.

The qualifiers span two continents: Pool A will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Pool B in Tokyo, Japan, and Pool C in Xi’an, China.
Each pool will witness a single round-robin series over seven days. The champions and runners-up from each pool will secure their spot alongside host nation, France, at the Olympics.

Pool A kicks off with three-time Olympic Champions Brazil competing against bronce medalist from Asian Championship, Qatar.
Italy, the current world champions, is another team to watch out for in this pool. Other contenders include cirent Asian Games winners Iran, Cuba, Ukraine, Germany, and Czech Republi .

Pool B begins its series in Tokyo, featuring EuroVolley 2023 bronze medalists Slovenia playing against Tunisia. The USA and Japan, both top contenders, are also part of this pool, together with Serbia, Türkiye, Egypt and Finland.

In Pool C, Argentina will face Mexico. Poland, the current world number 1, will also be competing for victory in this pool. Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, China, and Bulgaria are the other teams in Pool C.

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In Pool B, Türkiye shocks Serbia in this Opening Day!
A great excitement started in Tokyo, Japan, with the first major upset of the tournament as Türkiye emerged victorious against Serbia, concluding the match at 3-1 (25:22, 20:25, 25:14, 25:20). Adis Lagumdzija was the star performer for the winners, top-scoring with 19 points, followed by Bedirhan Bulbul who also contributed with 14 points, and both Mirza Lagumdzija and Mert Matiac tallying 12 each. On the other side of the net, Miran Kujundzic led Serbia’s scoreboard with 17 points, closely followed by Aleksandar Atanasijevic with 13 points. Nothing to do for Serbia,
despite the return of Uroš Kovacecic, who scored only 7 points and 1 ace.
Slovenia also had a winning start to their tournament, sweeping Tunisia in a clear 3-0 (25:20, 25:18, 25:21) victory. The top scorer title was shared between Klemen Cebulj of Slovenia and Hamza Nagga of Tunisia, each scoring 15 points.
The United States, favorite in Pool B, began their journey with a commanding 3-0 (25:20, 25:16, 25:19) success over Egypt. Torey Defalco led the U.S. team to victory with 17 points, well supported by Matthew Anderson and Aaron Russell, who scored 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Host nation Japan had to play hard to overcome a resilient Finland, eventually prevailing in a nail-biting 3-2 (25:17, 25:15, 25:27, 19:25, 15:12) clash. Ran Takahashi was the man of the match for Japan, scoring a match-high 23 points, while Yuji Nishida added 16 points to Japan’s tally.

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In Pool C, Poland, Canada, Argentina and Bulgaria triumph in Xi’an, China.
The event witnessed two thrilling five-sets games. Poland, the world’s number one team, narrowly managed a 3-2 (23:25, 25:20, 25:16, 21:25, 17:15) victory against a very resilient Belgium. Lukasz Kaczmarek of Poland and Ferre Reggers of Belgium shared top scorer honours, each delivering 25 points.
Canada experienced a similar clash against the Netherlands, eventually prevailing 3-2.
Despite a match-high 29 points from Netherlands’ bomber and captain Nimir Abdel-Aziz, Canada, led by Arthur Szwarc, Stephen Maar, and Eric Loeppky, secured victory in a nail-biting tie-break (25:21, 23:25, 24:26, 25:18, 15:12).
Argentina displayed dominance with a 3-0 (25:20, 25:17, 25:19) clear win against Mexico, with Bruno Lima scoring a match-high 16 points. Meanwhile, Bulgaria claimed a clear 3-0 (25:18, 25:19, 25:14) success against hosts China, with captain Tsvetan Sokolov scoring a 20-point match high.
These opening victories set the stage for an exciting competition as the teams vie for a spot in the Paris Olympics.

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In Pool A in Brazil, the home team won in straight sets (25:16, 25:19, 26:24) against Qatar. Top scorers of the game Lucarelli and Alan, who closed the match with 14 points each. Good performance also for Renan and Raimi, authors of 12 and 11 points respectively for Qatar.
Winning debut also for Italy, who suffered a good game of Czech Republic, led by a great Hadrava (22 points from him at the end of the match) but eventually managed to win the game by 3-1 (24:26, 25:18, 25:22, 25:19).
Good performance of italian middleblockers Galassi and Sanguinetti (12 and 11 points respectively, and 13 for top scorer Lavia) and not a good day for Michieletto, replaced in second set by a better Tommaso Rinaldi.
Three points and four sets win also for a good Germany against Iran – 1-3 (22:25, 25:22, 16:25, 21:25), and for Cuba, who destroyed Ukraine after a straight sets (25:16, 25:19, 25:18) win.
About Germany, the prowess of veteran opposite György Grozer and outside hitter Moritz Karlitzek was decisive, as the duo contributed a combined 40 points to the victory, scoring 23 and 17 points respectively.
Meanwhile, on the opening day’s concluding game, Cuba demonstrated their dominance by sweeping Ukraine,
led by three players, Jesus Herrera, Marlon Yant, and Javier Concepcion, reaching the double digits in scoring with 13, 11, and ten points respectively.
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🇧🇷| Pool A | September 30, 2023
• Brazil – Qatar 3-0 (25:16, 25:19, 26:24)
• Italy – Czech Republic 3-1 (24:26, 25:18, 25:22, 25:19)
• Iran – Germany 1-3 (22:25, 25:22, 16:25, 21:25)
• Cuba – Ukraine 3-0 (25:16, 25:19, 25:18)

🏐| STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1.Germany 3
2.Italy 3
3.Brazil 3
4.Cuba 3
5.Czech Republic 0
6.Iran 0
7.Qatar 0
8.Ukraine 0

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🇯🇵| Pool B | September 30, 2023
• Slovenia – Tunisia 3-0 (25:20, 25:18, 25:21)
• Türkiye – Serbia 3-1 (25:22, 20:25, 25:14, 25:20)
• USA – Egypt 3-0 (25:20, 25:16, 25:19)
• Japan – Finland 3-2 (25:17, 25:15, 25:27, 19:25, 15:12)

🏐| STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1.USA 3
2.Slovenia 3
3.Türkiye 3
4.Japan 2
5.Finland 1
6.Serbia 0
7.Tunisia 0
8.Egypt 0

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🇨🇳| Pool C | September 30, 2023
• Argentina – Mexico 3-0 (25:20, 25:17, 25:19)
• Bulgaria – China 3-0 (25:18, 25:19, 25:14)
• Poland – Belgium 3-2 (23:25, 25:20, 25:16, 21:25, 17:15)
• Canada – Netherlands 3-2 (25:21, 23:25, 24:26, 25:18, 15:12)

🏐| STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1.Bulgaria 3
2.Argentina 3
3.Poland 2
4.Canada 2
5.The Netherlands 1
6.Belgium 1
7.Mexico 0
8.China 0

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