Korean women’s volleyball, which made the myth of reaching the semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics, is shaking. Not only did their world ranking fall, but they also suffered a blow to Vietnam, an underdog, at the recent Asian Championships.
Reporter Seok Min-hyuk focused on how such a dark time came and whether things can change at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
[Report]
The national team met Vietnam, ranked 47th in the world.
Although he won the first and second sets, he ended up losing a shocking comeback to his opponent, who counterattacked with unsparing defense and blocking.
Vietnam is a team that has never participated in the Olympics and has no medal experience in the Asian Games.
In the last two years, in the Volleyball Nations League, there were 27 losses in 27 matches. The world ranking has plummeted.
So-Hwi Kang said
, “There is definitely a big physical difference between European and American players, but in Asia, Korea has more confidence…”
However, it is still not meeting expectations.
Our players had an average height of 3cm taller than the Vietnamese players, but their spike heights were lower.
Among the 14 participating countries in this competition, they are ranked 12th in spike height and 13th in blocking height, so they are no longer highly competitive even in Asia.
Jang Yoon-hee / TV Chosun Commentator
“If you go to a world championship, you will be fast despite being tall.
First of all, the retirement of national team pillars such as Kim Yeon-kyung and Yang Hyo-jin is painful.
Lee Da-hyeon
“There are a lot of players who don’t have experience in big games, so in fact, since our sisters retired and last year was our first time, we were a bit confused.”
We’re trying out new players, but the roster changes often.
Cesar
: “It depends a little bit on the players’ injury status and whether they can help the team tactically.”메이저놀이터
There were times when Coach Cesar, who was also coaching an overseas club team, joined training late.
The situation requires a change of atmosphere.
The national team, which advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Chinese Taipei and Uzbekistan after losing against Vietnam, is determined to continue the good trend through the Olympic qualifiers and the Hangzhou Asian Games using this Asian Championship as an opportunity.
Park Jeong-ah / Captain
“Because I think winning a medal is everyone’s goal and have a strong desire to achieve it…”
Korean women’s volleyball has won medals in all but one of the previous Asian Games.