Who is Yuji Nishida? Japanese Volleyball Player Goes Viral for Dramatic Headfirst Sliding Apology

Most incidents in volleyball involving accidentally hitting people with the ball are usually met with a simple apology. However, in the case of Japanese player Yuji Nishida, his apology went viral as he slid headfirst on the floor across the court.

Nishida went viral for his dramatic apology towards a court judge whom he accidentally hit when striking. The Japanese volleyball player was part of an all-star volleyball event in Kobe, during the half-time serving challenge. Viral footage from the event showed how Nishida's left-handed serve strayed off the court and hit the female courtside judge on the back.

What Happened

Although the judge was not injured, by the time she regained her composure, Nishida was seen sliding across the court on the floor, nose down and hands at his sides. The volleyballer then got to his knees and began to bow profusely to apologise. The judge was smiling, yet a little embarrassed as she returned the bow.

Nishida's team ultimately won the match 3-0.

Courtside and Social Media Reaction

The dramatic gesture by Nishida resulted in applause and laughter from both his teammates and the audience. Television commentators were curious if the friction burned Nishida's head whilst another commentator compared his appearance to 'a freshly landed tuna'.

Clips of Nishida's headfirst slide unsurprisingly went viral on social media from both local and international netizens finding the moment funny. Some netizens have also compared the moment to a scene from the Japanese volleyball anime, 'Haikyuu!!'.

'Most anime thing that's ever happened in real life,' said one netizen.

'Bro really said, slide fast so I can apologise faster,' said another commenter.

'Bro apologised like his committed a crime'

'Honestly this is peak Japanese sportsmanship you can tell he genuinely felt bad.'

Whilst dramatic, Nishida's apology is referred to as 'dogeza', the most extravagant form of apology in Japanese culture. It could also be used to express deep respect. Politicians who have been mired by scandal have been known to apologise in a dramatic manner, which is also rarely seen in public.

Breakout Player

The viral incident adds to Nishida's emerging prominence in the sport, after becoming a crowd favourite since his performance at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Hailing from Inabe, Japan, Nishida started his professional volleyball career in 2018 yet he has been playing volleyball even before that.

Nishida became the captain of his school team in sixth grade, winning the President's Cup of the Mie Prefecture Volleyball Federation. After practising with three different volleyball teams, Nishida competed in the Mie Prefectural High School Championship.

The volleyballer made his V-League debut with JTEKT Stings in 2018 at 17 years old as a starting player as well as a spot on the Japanese men's national volleyball team. In that same year, Nishida was the youngest player to score 30 points following a match against Argentina at the 2018 World Championships. In the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup, Nishida was awarded Best Server and Best Opposite.

He would go on to lead the national team, finishing seventh place in Tokyo in 2020 (the team's best in 29 years). Nishida later transferred to play for Volley Callipo in the Italian Volleyball League during the 2021-2022 season. During his time with the team, Nishida was made MVP of the match three times, even whilst he was injured.

As of 2024, Nishida competed for the national team again at the Paris Olympics, where they won silver. Nishida also joined the Panasonic Panthers at club level the same year.