Korean Air, who is participating in the 2023 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship as a representative of Korea, was frustrated. In the first match of the quarterfinals, they were defeated by Japan’s Suntory Sunbirds.
On the 18th (local time), Korean Air lost to Santorini 0-3 (21-25, 19-25, 19-25) in the quarterfinal group stage of the tournament held at Isa Sports City Stadium in Manama, Bahrain. With this loss, Korean Air recorded two losses in the group stage, including a 1-3 loss to Bayangkara, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Jakarta’s Byangkara Freshi, who belonged to the same group in the quarterfinals, won 3-0 against Bayanghongor of Mongolia on the same day. Even if Korean Air wins Bayanghongor on the 19th, even if it becomes 1-2, it will not be able to advance to the semifinals due to Suntory and Jakarta, which have already secured 2 wins.
Apposite spiker Lim Dong-hyeok, who was somewhat sluggish in the 3 group stage matches, served as a support for the attacking team with 19 points (52% attack success rate), including 1 block and 1 serve. However, ace Jeong Ji-seok only scored 3 points, and the entire team also scored 28 errors.
I fell to my knees at the ferocity of Suntory’s ace, Dmitri Mushalsky (Russia). Muchhalski scored 15 points (attack success rate 59%), including 1 block and 1 serve. Here, Alain Junior (Cuba) scored 12 points, including two serve points, and left-handed middle blocker Kenji Sato also contributed with an attack success rate of 87.5% (scored 7 out of 8 times).
Korean Air coach Tommy Tilikhainen could not hide his regret about the loss after the game. He said, “I said I was preparing a lot, but I couldn’t show any of what I had prepared,” and expressed his resentment, saying, “Today’s game was a complete defeat to the extent that I have nothing to say.”
Regarding the opponent’s ace Mushalski attack, he said, “I defended myself, but it wasn’t enough,” and commented, “Even today, Mushalski did better than usual.” He continued, “When Mushalski first attacked, if he bounced or defended, we should take advantage of that opportunity and score, but if we miss that opportunity, it’s over.”
It was a comfortable match for Mushalski, who dominated the world volleyball world as a top player. When asked by Korean reporters to evaluate Korean Air’s level after the game, Mushalski replied, “To be honest, it’s about 9th, 10th, or 11th.” It means that it is at the bottom of the Japanese league men’s standard, which consists of 10 clubs.메이저놀이터
“I think the Korean team is a team with strong defense,” said Mushalski, who had faced the Korean team for the first time. “All teams are trying to stop me. He continued, “It feels good to win today, and it was nice to be able to save some stamina at the end.”
Mushalski, who is active in the Japanese league, expressed his desire to play in other countries as well. He said, “Japan is a country that is comfortable in all areas, including facilities.”