National volleyball team manager Mikiyasu Tanaka has decided to step down from the helm after he failed to help the men's team win a berth for the Athens Olympics through the recent qualifier, volleyball sources said Monday.
The Japan Volleyball Association accepted the paperwork turned in by the 49-year-old, who saw Japan finish sixth out of eight teams with a 2-5 record in the May 22-30 tournament which guaranteed Olympic berths to the overall winner and the best Asian team.
While the association has yet to decide on a successor for Tanaka, Tatsuya Ueta, the manager of the men's junior national team, will take over as a stand-in coach for the World League that kicks off Saturday.
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