| Kento Miyaura | |
| Fullname: | Kento Miyaura |
| Nickname: | Kento |
| Nationality: | Japanese |
| Birth Date: | 22 February 1999 |
| Birth Place: | Kumamoto, Japan |
| Height: | 1.9m (06.2feet) |
| Weight: | 87kg (192lb) |
| Spike: | 347cm (137inches) |
| Block: | 320cm (130inches) |
| College: | Waseda University |
| Position: | Opposite spiker |
| Currentnumber: | 4 (national) 13 (club) |
| Currentclub: | Paris Volley |
| Years: | 2020–present |
| Nationalyears1: | 2017–2018 |
| Nationalteam1: | Japan U–19 team |
| Nationalyears2: | 2017 |
| Nationalteam2: | Japan U–21 team |
| Nationalyears3: | 2019 |
| Nationalteam3: | Japan U–23 team |
| Nationalyears4: | 2021–present |
| Nationalteam4: | Japan senior national team |
| Medaltemplates-Expand: | yes |
| Medaltemplates-Title: | Medal record |
| Medaltemplates: | [1] |
Kento Miyaura (宮浦 健人, born 22 February 1999) is a Japanese male volleyball player from Kumamoto City, on the island of Kyushu. Currently, he plays in LNV Ligue A Masculine for Paris Volley. He used to be the captain of Japan U-19 team and Waseda University's club.[2] [3] [4]
Miyaura started playing volleyball in the second grade of elementary school. He was slender and lacked power, so he didn't get the opportunity to participate in the game until the 4th grade, where he still played as a substitute and was told, "You are not an ace".
He was asked to create a new junior-level club at Chinzei High School. At the time, there were just two players in the club, so they could not participate in any competitions, but he always practiced every day.
Then, in his senior high school years, he was bothered by an injury that forced him to leave the team. In his second year, he was assigned as captain of the team, but he often caused trouble for the team due to his lack of ability. That was a very hard time in his volleyball life, so he thought about quitting. As time passed, the hardships made him stronger. However, he and the team suffered from the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes, which closed their training gym. After a month, they had to find a new training place, but the environment was not good. So, as a result, the team won the runner-up place at the All Japan high school volleyball championship.
After high school graduation, Miyaura joined Waseda University. He was called to the Japan men's national under-19 volleyball team for the first time and later became captain of the team. In his second year, he considered himself stronger in physical terms, so he started to do weight training and communicated with the team's staff about injury prevention. Furthermore, he also changed his serving style from float serve to jump serve, adding more effectiveness to the team. In the next year, he became a big player on the team. Miyaura was assigned to be a national representative at every junior level: the U-19 team and the U-21 team in 2017,[5] [6] the U-23 team, and the Universiade team in 2019, respectively.[7] [8] [9]
In his final year in college, he was a captain and led the team to victory in the All Japan Intercollegiate Volleyball Championship, making Waseda University win this tournament five years consecutively. Then, in the 2020–21 season, he joined the JTEKT Stings in V.League 1.[10] [11]
In 2021, he was called up for the senior national team for the first time,[12] [13] and his first competition as a senior is the 2021 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship.[14] The Japanese team finished as runners-up; he scored a total of 76 points and received the Best Opposite Spiker award.[15] [16] [17]
On October 15, he played his first full game in the V.League as part of the starting line-up against the JT Thunders, which JTEKT lost to in 4 sets with a 1–3 record.[18] He became a key player for the team since he helped the team score and became the top scorer in almost every match.
On January 16, 2022, JTEKT was in 7th place, and after losing in straight 5 matches, Miyaura helped the team win against the Toray Arrows in 4 sets, with a 3–1 record at home.[19] [20] In this game, Miyaura became JTEkT's top scorer, recording 30 points, which later made him emotional.[21]
JTEKT Stings ended up in 7th place in the league. Miyaura was in 5th place in the top scorers category, the 1st among Japanese, with 651 points after finishing the final stage.[22]
Miyaura was back as a member of the Japanese National Team and went to compete in the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League. In the first week of the league, Miyaura scored 20 points in total, as he played as a starter against the United States, which Japan later lost to.[23] [24] In almost the last match of the third week, Miyaura, as a starter, showed his abilities tallying 17 points in 15 attacks and 2 aces, which lead the team to a 4-set victory over Germany with a 1–3 record.[25]
On August 2, it was announced that he would be playing for the Polish Club PSG Stal Nysa in the 2022–2023 season.
In Japan's match against France in the VNL 2023, Miyaura played as a substitute, helping the team with a come from behind 4-set win against France with a 3–1 record, where with his high success rate in attacks and strong serve, scored 13 points in 10 attacks, 1 block, and 2 service aces.[26] [27]
On June 16, Paris Volley announced that Kento Miyaura would join the club for the 2023–2024 season.[28]