MATCH INFO

Osaka, Japan, June 24, 2012, Press Conference, Japan vs Korea - Japan were happy to finish up the 2012 FIVB World Grand Prix in Osaka on a high note with a victory over Asian rivals Korea. Both teams will now shift their efforts on preparing for the London Olympics.

Japan captain Erica Araki: "Today’s game we tried different members than before, and I’m happy we could win. The World Grand Prix was a hard tournament for us. From now on we’ll change our focus to the Olympics."

Japan player Ai Otomo: "Today’s game was good because we all worked together as scoring as one. We wanted to do quick volleys going into this match, and I think we did that. Looking ahead to London, we’ll have to do some more work in order to improve our play."

Japan player Saori Kimura: "I feel a little bad that we gave up so many points today, but I’m happy to be able to win 3-0. We don’t have much time left before the Olympics, so we’ll all have to work hard in order to play our best there."

Japan coach Masayosi Manabe: "In today’s game our serve-reception was pretty stable. Looking back to OQT and in the nine matches in this World Grand Prix, this was our best service reception."What points need to improve for London: "Service reception. Korea was strong sometimes today, sometimes not. In Olympics we will face South and Central American and European teams and they have strong serves. We have to train more on that point."

Korea captain Lee Sook-Ja: "Today game was important because it was Japan and Korea, and all of us played hard but in the end, we couldn’t come up with a good result."

Korea coach Kim Hyung-Sil: "For Korea we had a hard schedule, and all our players were very tired. To be honest, I think our players did well so far. But in addition to fatigue we had players injured, and our team just couldn’t function properly. In this Grand Prix we couldn’t make the final, but we are going to the Olympics, so we’re looking forward to that." 

On the meaning of the World Grand Prix for Korea: "The meaning of the World Grand Prix for us… We’re going to the Olympics for first time after an 8-year absence, so that’s very important for us. World League for the men, and World Grand Prix for Korea seem to be a burden for Korea and other countries too. For now the Olympic are important and we need to concentrate on that."

On Kim Yeon-Koung: "After the OQT she needed a rest and took about a month off. We After yesterday, she was at about 70 or 80 percent, and today maybe around 90 percent. But she won’t have any problems in the Olympics."