Participating Teams in the 2004 World Olympic Qualification Tournament for women2004

JPN	Japan ended up 5th at the women's World Cup last year and most of the players from that competition will compete in the OQT for example Kana Oyama and Megumi Kurihara who rivaled elite teams in the world and Tomoko Yoshihara whose captaincy is widely recognized. It would be interesting to see what sort of perspective Ikumi Narita, Hiromi Suzuki and Ai Otomo will bring to the team.
KOR	Korea's great advantage is persistence based on steady defense. However, although the odds were in Korea's favor, they were humiliated by Japan at the Asian Championship and at the World Cup last year. For that reason alone, Korea will be strongly motivated to beat Japan. It is said that some experienced players who competed in the Olympics in 2000 will join Korea's young team with the core player, Lim Yu-Jin.
THA	Thailand is a rapidly rising team that has been improving since the late 1990s. Thailand has continued to show its excellent consistent volleyball under coaches from China. Having defeated Japan at the Asian Championship two years ago, Thailand has been steadily improving and must not be underestimated.
TPE	Chinese Taipei's highest result internationally was 11th at the World Championship in Beijing in 1990. However, Chinese Taipei is in the second group following China, Japan and Korea in Asia. Chinese Taipei's volleyball is based on the mixture of height and strong defence. They will have to overcome the disadvantage of a lack of international experience to move up to a higher class.
RUS	Russia, the four-time Olympic Champion including the era of the former Soviet Union, will humiliatingly compete in the OQT. Russia with powerhouse, players e.g. Ekaterina Gamova, Evguenia Artamonova and Elizaveta Tichtchenko, has a burning desire for revenge.
ITA	Italy was the winner of the World Championship in 2002. Receiving an FIVB's wild card, Italy's participation in the World Cup was realized but they sadly ended up 4th. The possibility of demonstrating Italy's systematic ID volleyball will depend on the recovery of their best spiker, Elina Togut, who had to miss the European Continental OQT.
NGR	Nigeria is a highly ranked team in Africa along with Kenya, Egypt and Tunisia; however, Nigeria is not internationally recognized. The test will be how they will compete with the great powers of the world.
PUR	Puerto Rico will aim for the first-time for the realization of their dream of participating in the one of the three major international competitions - the Olympic Games, the World Championship and the World Cup. Puerto Rico took the 4th place at the NORCECA Championship as well as at the NORCECA OQT last January. They will aspire to be a participating Caribbean nation following the example of Cuba and the Dominican Republic.