Last Wednesday, the capital club landed in Japan for their third consecutive pre-season tour. While this Japan Tour is becoming a habit for some of the Parisians, visiting the Japanese capital was a new experience for most of our recruits. In addition to having daily training sessions to stay in shape, Stefan Madsen and his men learnt about Japanese culture: an introduction to sumo wrestling and the way of the samurai, a cruise on the Sumida River, karaoke... The atmosphere was undeniably upbeat for Les Rouge et Bleus, who are now preparing to conclude their tour with two friendly matches.
Zeekstar Tokyo - Paris Saint-Germain Handball's opponent in its two previous tours of the Land of the Rising Sun - are a relatively new team. Founded in 2018 under the name Tokyo Tristars, the club immediately submitted an application to join the Japan Handball League, the top local division, which is a closed championship with no relegation or promotion. While waiting for the federation's response, Tokyo Tristars wrote the first lines of club history in the second division. After an promising inaugural season, finishing in third place, the Tokyoites saw their application accepted and took their place in the elite division starting in the 2020-2021 season. Their last campaign in the second tier of Japanese handball ended with a rousing second-placed finish that saw them only narrowly miss out on the title.
But it mattered little, as the club from the Japanese capital quickly turned their attention to the future, with big ambitions for their arrival in the top flight - starting with their name. Changing from Tristars to Zeekstar, the team now pays tribute to the handball culture of Europe, where the game was born. Zeek refers to ‘Sieg’, meaning ‘victory’ in German, while “Star” refers to ‘star’ in English. This ambition is also reflected in a five-year plan to become the best club in Japan, while serving as a production line for the Japanese national team.
Zeekstar Tokyo have a particularly experienced squad that includes several Japanese internationals. Among them are Nakamura Tsubasa and Tamagawa Hiroyasu, who both played in Croatia during last winter's World Championship. However, Tamagawa will not be playing against Les Rouge et Bleus due to injury. Another notable absence for this gala match is Adam Yuki Beigu. The left-back, who has played for Cesson-Rennes and Saran, also picked up an injury last week and will leave a big gap in his position.
As one of the only players with experience abroad, Izumoto Shin (who played for EHV Aue in the German second division) could replace him, unless coach-player and local legend Hiroki Shida steps up and decides to take the court himself, having played against the capital club last season.
Nevertheless, several key players will be present to give Stefan Madsen's men a run for their money. Be it in goal, with former Japanese international Yuta Iwashita, or in the outcourt with Hozuki Higashinagahama (37), Yukihiro Shibayama (33) and Hiroki Motoki (33), it will be a particularly experienced side that takes on Les Rouge et Bleus on Tuesday.
Added to this is Shengzhang Zhao, the only foreign player in the squad and a true legend of the Japanese championship. At 34, the Taiwanese winger could make his debut in his new colours just a few weeks after arriving from Al Arabi. Named in the Japan Handball League's team of the week four times before his adventure in Qatar, he returns with the status of a leader and could be one of the biggest threats for the Tokyo side.