“It’s unfortunate… it’s very unfortunate.”
The eyes of the Korean men’s volleyball team’s players also became tearful at the unimaginable and disastrous results.
Korea was defeated by Pakistan with a set score of 0-3 (19-25 22-25 21-25) in the men’s volleyball round of 12 of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held at the China Textile City Sports Center Gymnasium in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China on the 22nd.
Korea, which was eliminated early from the medal race, ended up leaving empty-handed for the first time in 61 years at the Asian Games. He was eliminated even before the opening ceremony of the competition was held on the 23rd.
Korea’s goal for this competition, which had won medals in 14 consecutive competitions from the 1966 Bangkok Games to the 2018 Jakarta and Palembang Games, was a gold medal.
But the dream was too far away.
On the 20th, Korea lost a full set match against메이저놀이터 India in the first game of the group stage. Korea, ranked 27th in the world, suffered a shock loss to India, ranked 73rd, and predicted a difficult journey.
The next day, we achieved a shutout victory against delicate Cambodia, but we could not feel at ease. Cambodia is an amateur-level team with no world rankings, but Korea was able to take the first set and set the tone.
Korea, which advanced to the round of 12 with 1 win and 1 loss in the group stage, eventually sat down, unable to advance any further. Pakistan, which defeated Korea that day, is ranked 51st in the world.
The players also had difficulty speaking due to the disappointing result.
Hwang Taek-eui (Armed Forces Athletic Corps) sighed deeply, saying, “It’s very unfortunate, it’s disappointing.”
“(Han) and I kept thinking about how to solve the problem, but I don’t think we found it today. I think the result was like this because of the setters,” he said, blaming himself.
It is a result that we would like to ignore, but we must acknowledge the cold reality.
Hwang Taek-eui lowered his head and said, “I felt that we were lacking a lot, and I think we need to do better.” He added, “I think that our men’s volleyball team as a whole is lacking.”
Heo Soo-bong (Hyundai Capital) blamed himself, saying, “It was the players who did poorly in such a big event like the Asian Games,” and said, “But they did their best, so I hope the players don’t bow down.”
Korean men’s volleyball, which reigned as ‘Asia’s powerhouse’, has recently been showing disappointing results one after another on the international stage.
They lost to Bahrain (73rd) in the semifinals of the 2023 Asia Challenge Cup and finished in 3rd place, and they also finished in 5th place at the 2023 Asian Volleyball Championships held last month.
Heo Soo-bong said, “If you look at strong countries, their serves are strong. I think we need to use that kind of serve as well.” He added, “First of all, since the opponent’s height and strength are good, we need to think a lot about how we can score points with technique and defend in those areas. “I think I will do it,” he pointed out.
He then reflected, “In order for the Korean national volleyball team to do well, individual skills are important, but teamwork also needs to be close to perfect to be able to play against strong opposing teams.”
Minjae Kim bit his lip, saying, “I felt a lot. I think I’m learning a lot about what I’m lacking in. I have to go to Korea and make up for a lot of what I’m lacking in.”
To the fans, he said, “I didn’t perform as well as I expected in the international competition. The fans supported me a lot, but I am very sorry that the result turned out like this.” He added, “I will work hard to prepare for future seasons and international competitions to show an even better performance.” “I will try my best,” he pledged.