The volleyball team came through a difficult group and dispatched some dangerous teams on their way to their sixth medal since Sydney 2000.

Placed in Pool B, the Russian team won five of their six group games to top the standings, winning 13 of the 18 sets played. 

They led defending champions Brazil, who beat them in the semi-finals in Rio, and eventual winners France. 

In the knockout stages, the side beat Canada 3-0 in sets, avenged their defeat to Brazil with a 3-1 win and then fell one set short against France in the final.

In the final, Russia's team valiantly battled back from two sets down to draw the contest level.

However, France pulled clear in the fifth set, ultimately securing the final set 15-12.

The team was lead by Maksim Mikhaylov.

The 33-year-old was a part of the bronze medal-winning team at Beijing 2008, the gold medal-winning London 2012 Russian team, and the fourth-placed finishers in Rio, five years ago.

Mikhaylov started playing volleyball in the Leningrad region and was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) at the 2011 International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) World Cup.

He was also the highest scorer at London 2012 as Russia won gold.

Artem Volvich, 31, was named Best Middle Blocker at Rio 2016 and followed up that form on this occasion. 

Volvich won gold at the 2013 Summer Universiade and has won three European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) Champions League gold medals throughout his career.

Igor Kobzar was the only other over 30-year-old in the squad. 

The 30-year-old Kyrgyz-born setter won gold in the 2018 and 2019 FIVB Nations Leagues with Russia and has won five Russian Championships, one with Belogorie Belgorod, three with Zenit Kazan and a final one with Kuzbass Kemerovo in the 2018-2019 season.

Dmitry Volkov, 26, was a part of the Rio 2016 team.

He enjoyed a dominant junior career, winning gold at the FIVB Under-19 World Championships in 2013, the CEV Under-20 European Championships in 2014, and the Under-21 and Under-23 FIVB World Championships in 2015.

Another 26-year-old, Ivan Iakovlev plays as a middle blocker. 

Iakovlev won the CEV Cup with his club side Zenit Saint Petersburg.

For Pavel Pankov, 25, volleyball runs in the family. 

His mother, Marina Pankova, is an Olympic champion from Seoul 1988, while his sister, Ekaterina Kosianenko, also plays for the Russian women's national team.

Pankov is another youth star, having won multiple world and European junior championships, including being named the MVP in the World Youth Championships in 2013, the Youth European Championships in 2014 and the Youth World Championships in 2015.

Another dominant performer at junior level, Viktor Poletaev made his Olympic debut in Tokyo.

The 26-year-old was named the MVP of the 2013 CEV Under-19 European Championships, which Russia won, and the 2013 FIVB U21 World Championships, which Russia also won.

In all, Poletaev won two world youth golds and two European youth golds.

Denis Bogdan, 24, and Yaroslav Podlesnykh are both outside hitters playing for Dynamo Moscow.

The Belarusian-born Bogdan moved from Fakel Novy Urengoy to Moscow at the end of the 2020-2021 season. 

Podlesnykh, 26, moved from Kuzbass Kemerovo to Moscow before the 2020-2021 season, helping Moscow win the Russian Championship.

Another Belarusian-born star, Egor Kliuka, also 26, plays for Zenit Saint Petersburg.

Like many of his team mates, he was a member of the 2015 FIVB Under-23 World Championship-winning Russian team, in which he was named the MVP, and the 2015 Summer Universiade. 

Kliuka was joined in the 2015 Summer Universiade-winning team by Ilyas Kurkaev.

The 27-year-old won gold at the FIVB Under-21 World Championships in 2013 and helped his domestic side Lokomotiv Novosibirsk to the Russian Championship in 2019-2020.

The final member of the 12-man team is Valentin Golubev.

The 29-year-old libero won a gold medal with Russia in the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League.