Kentaro Asahi

As of June 9, 2013

Kentaro Asahi (Japanese朝日 健 太郎, Asahi Kentaro; born September 19, 1975 in Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture) is a Japanese beach volleyball player. Previously, he was also active in volleyball and participated in a World Cup.

Career

Asahi began his career in indoor volleyball. He played as a middle blocker for the Japanese national team. With the team, he participated in the 1998 World Cup in their own country. The Japanese came as a group runner-up in the second round, but then could not win a game more.

2002 Asahi made ​​a beach volleyball duo with Koichi Nishimura and played in Berlin his first open tournament of the FIVB World Tour. In the first year together, Asahi / Nishimura did not come on the 41st square. In 2003, she also played in Berlin, her first Grand Slam and came on the 25th place. At the World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, they succeeded in the three group matches no victory, so they were eliminated in the first round. The following year they reached on the World Tour as the best results on the 13th rank in Carolina and three times in 25th place.

2005 Asahi formed a new duo with Satoshi Watanabe. The World Cup in Berlin began for the Japanese with a victory against the Germans Klemperer / Koreng before they conceded against Kjemperud / Skarlund from Norway their first defeat. On the losing side of the double elimination system, they survived another round and finally dropped out against the Canadians Leinemann / VanHuizen. Later they succeeded in Espinho Open a 13th Place and in Cape Town as they reached ninth for the first time the top ten.

For the last 2006 tournament in Acapulco Asahi has performed with his new partner Katsuhiro Shiratori. Asahi / Shiratori were fourth the Marseille Open after two ninth places at the World Tour. Little success was the appearance at the World Championships in Gstaad. There, the Japanese met in the preliminary round, inter alia, the defending champion Fabio Luiz / Marcio Araújoaus Brazil and recorded in only three games a set profit. In 2008 she qualified for the Olympic Games in Beijing. There she achieved despite the defeat against the Germans Brink / Dieckmann a second group the second round, where they were beaten by the Brazilian silver medalists at the World Championships as before. The last tournament of the year ended Asahi / Shiratori as well as the first open tournament 2009 at the ninth. In the further course of the year they came up to the 17th place. The same result, there was at the Brasília Open 2010. Otherwise, the duo succeeded no more front placement.

2011 Asahi initially played three tournaments with Shinpei Aoki before he again got together with Shiratori in the Asia Cup and finished fifth. 2012 took Asahi / Shiratori in London for the second time in an Olympic tournament. More than one set win against the Czechs Benes / Kubala they succeeded not in the group, so that they had to leave after the first round.