Japan's men's volleyball team finished fourth in the VNL, and the words Coach Laurent Tillie is said to have addressed to the players in the locker room immediately after they missed out on a medal have drawn attention. JVA's official YouTube channel released footage from the scene, conveying the coach's words of encouragement.
Japan recorded a stunning 13-match winning streak in the VNL, but reportedly lost 2-3 to the United States in the semifinals and 1-3 to Slovenia in the third-place match, falling short of the medal.
In the released locker-room footage, Coach Laurent Tillie is reported to have said, "The quality of this match was high. We climbed this far, but we are still aiming higher."
Fans are said to have responded to these words with comments such as "I'm in tears" and "I hope this leads to the next step."
It is also said that Tillie has a track record of leading France to the gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.