The Korean women’s volleyball team, which fell into a ‘nightmare’ last year, stood in front of a big rock again.
The women’s volleyball team, led by coach Cesar Hernandez, left for Turkey, Istanbul via Incheon International Airport on the 22nd to compete in the ‘2023 International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) Volleyball Nations League (VNL)’.
Local coach Cesar also joins the national team. Coach Cesar was unable to enter the country due to the match schedule of Turkiye Vakifbank, where he also serves as coach, and the national team has been training under coach Han Yu-mi. Coach Han Yu-mi, who communicated with the coach by checking the physical condition of the players every day, also sent a video of the practice game to receive detailed instructions and reflect them in training.
After arriving in Istanbul, the national team, coached by Cesar, will move to Antalya, where the first week of the VNL will be held. This year’s VNL will be held in Turkey, Brazil, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and Thailand from the 30th to July 2nd.
Last year, the national team received a humiliating report card of ‘0 points’ for the first time in the history of the tournament.
After the 2020 Tokyo Olympics semifinal myth, veterans such as Kim Yeon-kyung (Heungkuk Life Insurance), Kim Su-ji (Heungkuk Life Insurance), and Yang Hyo-jin (Hyundai E&C) retired en masse, and the national team, which was built with Park Jeong-ah (Pepper Savings Bank) as captain, suffered a total defeat in 12 matches. Even at the world championships, he was humiliated with 1 win and 5 losses.
“There is a very large rock in front of you. It won’t move at first, but keep pushing and it will move. Once it rolls, it will continue to move, so even if it is difficult now, I will continue to challenge for the national team.”
In terms of player composition, nothing has changed much since then. It is the national team that stands in front of a big rock again amid weakening power. In terms of objective power, it is still classified as weak. The current FIVB ranking of the national team is 23rd. It is fourth in Asia, following China (5th), Japan (6th) and Thailand (15th). The schedule to digest right away is not easy. The national team will play its first game against Turkiye in Antalya on the 1st of next month, then face Canada (2nd), USA (3rd) and Thailand (4th).
But this time, it’s psychologically reassuring. ‘Volleyball Legend’ Han Yu-mi joined as a coach, and ‘Volleyball Empress’ Kim Yeon-kyung serves as an advisor. It is analyzed that the joining of the two, who will serve as a bridge between coach Cesar and the players while taking care of their juniors, is a big plus for the national team.
Captain Park Jeong-ah (Pepper Savings Bank) said, “Last year’s performance was not good. On the first day of the national team’s gathering, I said, ‘Let’s work hard’ with the players. Everyone has a strong will.”
Kim Yeon-kyung, who accompanies him as an advisor, also said, “I know very well that players have to achieve good grades and show an improved appearance.” Unfortunately, Kim Yeon-kyung cannot digest all of the VNL schedule. He will return to Korea in early June and participate in the training of his team, Heungkuk Life Insurance.안전놀이터
He can improve his ranking by winning as many victories and sets as possible in the VNL, and must finish in second place in the World Qualifying Group C match to be held in Poland in September to stand on the stage of the Paris Olympics. Attention is focusing on whether the national team, which promised to restore its honor, will be able to wake up from last year’s nightmare and show new possibilities and hopes.