© BELGIUM
The Belgian volleyball women won their fourth match of the Olympic qualifying tournament (OKT) in the Japanese capital Tokyo on Wednesday. The Yellow Tigers (FIVB 13) beat Peru (FIVB 31) 3-0. The set scores were 25-12, 25-13 and 25-21.
Kris Vansnick’s team opened on Saturday with a 3-0 win against Bulgaria (25-19, 26-24 and 25-21). A 1-3 defeat against Puerto Rico followed on Sunday (25-20, 23-25, 19-25 and 19-25) and on Tuesday a 0-3 loss against Argentina (21-25, 20-25 and 18-25). The Tigers face Japan on Friday. This will be followed by duels with Brazil and world number 1 Turkey, the newly crowned European champion.
The top two of the group qualify for next year’s Games in Paris. A very difficult task for the Tigers in any case, especially because star player Britt Herbots is missing due to an abdominal muscle injury. For the same reason, she had to forfeit the lost eighth final at the last European Championship in her own country against Turkey, which would subsequently win gold.
© BELGIUM
Olympic qualifying tournaments will also be played in Ningbo, China and Lodz, Poland, with two tickets for Paris at stake each time. The six qualifying countries join France, the host country of the Games. The five remaining places will be awarded based on the world rankings in June 2024.
