PARIS, July 27 (Xinhua) -- The Paris Olympics men's volleyball competitions kicked off here on Saturday with victories for Italy, Poland, Germany, and the United States.
The most intense match of the day took place at the South Paris Arena, where Germany edged Japan in a five-set thriller. The final scores were 25-17, 23-25, 20-25, 30-28, 15-12.
Germany won the first set comfortably but faced a strong comeback from Japan, falling behind 1-2. In a nail-biter fourth set, both teams kept trading points in a grueling 35-minute contest.
Germany carried its momentum into the final set to secure the victory.
Germany's 39-year-old veteran Gyorgy Grozer led all scorers with 24 points. Japan's Ishikawa Yuki and Nishida Yuji contributed 22 and 20 points respectively.
"I'm an emotional person and also the crowd was amazing today," said Grozer. "Actually the emotions come out of me automatically. I'm enjoying the moment."
In other matches on Saturday, Italy defeated Brazil 3-1, Poland swept Egypt 3-0, and the United States dominated Argentina 3-0.
