Tunis, Tunisia, August 28, 2019 – Daiki Yamada has scored a total of 106 points in the five matches his team Japan have played so far at the 2019 FIVB Boys’ U19 Volleyball World Championship in Tunis. He is not only the squad’s most prolific player, but also one of the best scorers of the championship.
“I am just very happy when the team wins,” he told fivb.com after Japan claimed their third victory in Tunisia to make the best eight of the tournament. “I am not trying to become the best scorer. The team’s victory is the most important thing for me.”
Daiki Yamada in offence
Daiki says it is his fighting spirit that keeps him going and powers him and his teammates in their quest of victories over the opponents.
“My goal at this World Championship is to be on the number one spot on the podium with the gold medal,” he stated without any doubts and made it clear his aspirations go far beyond that. “I dream of playing on the senior national team and win a gold medal at the Olympics.”
Daiki Yamada in defence
Young Daiki got into volleyball when he was 12 years old. His teacher recommended him to start practicing the sport. Before that he was into running and swimming, but opted for volleyball.
“Volleyball just seemed to be more fun to play than the other sports. I enjoyed it a lot!” he explained his choice.
He has been competing for school teams since then. Currently he is a player of the Shimizu Sakuragaoka High School squad. The current U19 World Championship in Tunisia is not the first one in Daiki Yamada’s volleyball career. He was also part of the Japanese team that won bronze at the 2017 edition in Bahrain.
“My goals are to perform better and better at high-level world competitions like this,” said the 189-cm-tall spiker. “I want to become like Yuki Ishikawa. He plays in the same position as I do. He plays in Italy and brings the knowledge and the experience he gets there back to Japan. So I put in a lot of effort at practice every day to become a good player.”
In between school and volleyball practice, 18-year-old Daiki Yamada has little room for hobbies, but in his free time he enjoys reading Japanese manga books, because “they are so much fun!”
Daiki Yamada in the mixed zone at the Rades hall in Tunisia