Japanese 'little pepper' fights Turkish 'giant'

When Kurakurt jumps to spike the ball, her main opponent is just a Kojima who is almost... 4 inches shorter than her. That situation will certainly appear a lot in the 2025 Women's Volleyball World Championship semi-final between Japan and Turkey.

Kojima (left) is nearly 4 inches shorter than Kurakurt - Photo: CP

Kojima Manami and Ebrar Karakurt will be the contrasting, iconic images of the Japan-Türkiye rivalry. While the Turkish star is 1.95m tall, the Japanese libero is only 1.58m tall.

A small libero is nothing unusual. But Kojima's height of under 1.6m is exceptional. For example, the two corresponding liberos from Türkiye are both over 1.7m tall.

Not only in the Kojima - Karakurt confrontation, Japan is shorter and lighter than Türkiye in all positions.

Ishikawa (left) faces Vargas - Photo: FIVB

In the opposite direction, captain Mayu Ishikawa will have to be determined to overcome the barrier of Melissa Vargas - who is also 1.95m tall, 21cm taller than her.

Another interesting pair - Yoshino Sato and Zehra Gunes. They are two "beauties" of the top volleyball world, one is healthy and pure, the other has the beauty of a muse.

The only difference between Sato and Gunes is their height. Gunes is 1.97m tall, while Sato, despite being among the tallest men in Japan, is only 1.78m tall.

With an average height of 1.86m, Türkiye is 11cm taller than Japan. But the gap between the starting lineup will be even greater.

Sato (left) and Gunes are both muses of the tournament - Photo: SC

Because athletes over 1.9m tall are the pillars of Türkiye. In Japan, on the contrary, the shorter and lighter the players, the more excellent they are.

Typical examples are stars like Ishikawa or Wada who are both under 1.75m tall. With such height, they would probably only be able to take on the role of libero if they were transferred to the opposing team.

But would the taller team dare to look down on the shorter team? Certainly not. Because in both recent matches, Japan won dramatically 3-2.

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nhung-be-hat-tieu-nhat-ban-quyet-dau-nguoi-khong-lo-tho-nhi-ky-20250906080838139.htm