Olympic gold medallist Sata Maruyama has died at the age of 72 ©Wikipedia

Sata Maruyama, a member of the Japanese women's volleyball team that won the Olympic gold medal at Tokyo 1964, has died.

She was 72. 

Her family revealed she passed away on Sunday (December 18).

Maruyama, known more by her maiden name Isobe, was the youngest member of the Japanese team dubbed the "Witches of the Orient" who beat the Soviet Union as the sport made its official Olympic debut in the Japanese capital. 

Sata Maruyama, third left, was a member of the Japanese team that won the Olympic medal at Tokyo 1964 ©Getty Images
Sata Maruyama, third left, was a member of the Japanese team that won the Olympic medal at Tokyo 1964 ©Getty Images

Maruyama was an attacker and one of the main weapons used by Japanese coach Hirofumi Daimatsu.

Two years earlier she had played for Japan at the 1962 International Volleyball Federation World Championship in Moscow, where she had also beaten the Soviet Union in the final to win the gold medal.

Maruyama was rushed to hospital on Sunday (December 18) evening following a domestic accident but passed away, according to her 49-year-old son Shigemori Maruyama, a swimmer for Japan at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.