The preliminaries and this tournament are not over yet. If you’re going to lose once, wouldn’t it be better to lose before entering the tournament where you will be eliminated if you lose? I also told my juniors, ‘We will get better'” (Setter) Player Han)
“I’m sorry for even saying sorry. Before starting the Asian Games, I thought, ‘Every game is important.’ We really fell short in today’s game. I apologize to the fans for our national team’s continued disappointing results. “(Outside hitter Jeon Gwang-in)
The Korean men’s volleyball team (27th in the world rankings), which was aiming for its first gold medal in 17 years since the 2006 Doha Games, lost to India, ranked 73rd in the world, in the first match of the Hangzhou Asian Games.
The Korean national team, led by coach Lim Do-heon, defeated India with a set score of 2-3 (27-25 27-29 22-25 25-20 15) in the first match of the men’s Group C qualifiers for the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games held at the Linping Sports Center in Hangzhou, China on the 20th. -17).
It has been 11 years since Korea lost to India in an international competition involving professional players, since the 3rd Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Cup held in Vietnam in 2012.
Korean men’s volleyball suffered a shocking defeat even before the Hangzhou Asian Games officially opened (23rd).
If we don’t recover from this tournament, this is a game that could be remembered as a ‘disaster’.
Korea, which lost with a set score of 2-3 in the 2012 AVC Cup semifinals, was defeated by India after a close full set for the first time in 11 years.
In the Asian Games men’s volleyball, 19 teams will participate in the group stage and be divided into 6 groups, with the 1st and 2nd place winners from each group advancing to the round of 12 tournament.
Only three teams participate in Group C, so if Korea wins the match against Cambodia on the 21st, it can advance to the round of 12 as second place in the group and continue its medal challenge.
However, my pride was greatly diminished. We also confirmed the harsh reality that victory cannot be guaranteed even in the Asian Games group stage.
Now, Korea cannot only focus on teams with high world rankings on the Asian stage, such as Japan (5th), Iran (11th), and Qatar (17th).
If Korea advances to the round of 12 by finishing second in Group C, Pakistan (51st) and India, which it will face, will use their high height as a weapon to threaten the existing Asian powerhouses.
Korea, which was trailing 12-14 in the 5th set, took the game to a deuce thanks to an open attack by Jeon Kwang-in (Hyundai Capital) and a direct kill by Na Kyung-bok (Ministry of National Defense) following Jeon Kwang-in’s serve.
At the end of the rally, Na Kyung-bok’s open attack led to a 15-14 comeback.
However, India tied the score at 15-15 with Manjunatha Lakshmipuram’s quick break, and ended the game by blocking attacks by Na Kyung-bok and Heo Su-bong (Hyundai Capital).
It was the moment when India confirmed first place in Group C, which was thought to be ‘Korea’s’ of course until the competition. India defeated Cambodia 3-0 the previous day.
The only time the Korean men’s national team showed a bright expression on this day was at the beginning of the first set.
At the start of the first set, Korea scored with a quick break from Kim Jun-woo (Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance), followed by Heo Soo-bong’s open attack and Na Kyung-bok’s serve ace to take a 3-0 lead.
They succeeded in taking the lead by taking a 10-6 lead, but later, India started chasing with 202cm tall middle blocker Aswal Rai and wing striker Amit, and turned the game around.
Korea, which was trailing at 20-22, tied the score with open attacks by Jeon Kwang-in and Na Kyung-bok, and succeeded in turning the score around at 22-22 with Jeon Kwang-in’s serve ace.
In the match that ended in a deuce, Na Kyung-bok took the lead at 25-25 with a series of attacks aimed at the fingertips of the opponent’s blocker, and won the first set with difficulty due to India’s offensive mistakes.
The second set also ended in a deuce.
Korea was hit by an open attack from Kumar Vineet at 27-27.
The open attack attempted by Lim Dong-hyuk (Korean Air) at 27-28 was blocked by Rye’s high wall.
Korea was dragged by India from the beginning in the third set.
At 15-22, India’s receiving line was shaken with a sharp serve, and Heo Soo-bong and Jeon Kwang-in’s wing attack chased it to 22-24, but the third set ended in vain as Jeon Gwang-in’s serve was caught in the net.
Korea, which was pushed to the brink, had Jeon Gwang-in, Heo Soo-bong, and Na Kyung-bok form a ‘triangular formation’, and middle blocker Kim Min-jae (Korean Air) showed strength in the center, taking the game to five sets.
However, he was unable to overcome the final hurdle in the 5th set and suffered a shocking defeat.
It was also bad news for Korea that outside heater Jeong Ji-seok (Korean Air), who is good at offense and defense, could not play in the game due to poor health.레고토토
On this day, Korea lost 6-12 to India in blocking points. The final scene that decided victory or defeat was India’s blocking score.
Korea’s wing attacks by Na Kyung-bok (31 points), Jeon Kwang-in, and Heo Su-bong (22 points) worked, but they could not find a way out in the center.
India utilized both the center and the flanks.
◇ 19th Hangzhou Asian Games Men’s Group C Preliminary Match on the 20th
Korea (1 loss) 27 27 22 25 15 – 2
India (2 wins) 25 29 25 20 17 – 3