It’s a gesture that could well become trendy in volleyball halls. And a viral meme on social media. This weekend, the best volleyball players from the Japanese championship – the SV League – took part in the traditional All Star Game in Kobe. An event marked by an unusual sequence.
At halftime of the All-Star Game, Japan’s Yuji Nishida accidentally hit a ball girl while serving for a challenge. Immediately the 26-year-old, considered one of the best in the sport, rushed to the young girl to apologize.
But he didn’t just run. He literally threw himself under the net and slid several meters, his head turned towards the ground and his arms glued to his body. An attitude that could recall that of the emperor penguins on the ice.
After remaining lying on the ground, straight as an “i”, he knelt down, joining the palms of his hands, to perform a “dogeza”. Traditional gesture of politeness in Japanese culture which consists of “kneeling on the ground and bowing to prostrate by touching the head to the ground” according to the definition.
Nishida then returned, smiling, to his partners. Note that the captain of the Osaka Bluteon team, and partners of Frenchman Antoine Brizard who was also selected for the all-star match, won the match and was crowned MVP of the meeting.
The scene was captured by the numerous cameras present and has since been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on social networks.
