“Korean Volleyball in Crisis, Hard to Recover…System Must Change”

Women’s professional volleyball coaches and players speak out about the national team’s poor international performance.

The Dodram 2023-2024 V-League Women’s Media Day was held at Hotel Rivera Cheongdam in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday. Everyone was singing the praises of hope ahead of the official start on April 14. When it came to the national team, the voices were more subdued.

The women’s team, led by head coach Cesar Hernandez, went winless in the VNL from May to July with 12 losses and zero points. It was the second consecutive year they were swept and their losing streak stood at 24 games. They finished sixth at the Asian Championships in late August and early September. It was South Korea’s first failure to reach the quarterfinals in 21 tournaments since the inaugural edition in 1975.

Last month’s Paris 2024 Olympic qualifiers also ended with a loss in seven matches, two points and a last-place finish in Group C. It was the first time in 16 years since the 2008 Beijing Olympics that the team failed to qualify. They also finished fifth at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, which concluded on Aug. 8. It was their second gold medal in history and first in 17 years. Eventually, the Korean Volleyball Association terminated Cesar’s contract.

Kim Ho-cheol, the most senior head coach of the women’s team, played in the Italian league as a setter. He has a lot of experience and a broad perspective. “It’s a sensitive issue, but I’ll give you my opinion,” Kim said of the current state of Korean women’s volleyball, “I think it will be very difficult to recover from the current situation. “I think it will be very difficult to recover from the current state of affairs,” he said cautiously, “unless we change the system problems.

“More specifically, we need to discuss the future of Korean volleyball. The coaches need to put their heads together for the sake of Korean volleyball, not just for their own teams.”

Heungkuk Life coach Marcello Abondanza, a foreigner, agrees: “If we want to raise the level, we can increase the number of foreign players. I think it’s a way for domestic players to grow.”

Pepper Savings Bank outside hitter Park Jung-ah, who captained Cesarho, said, “I don’t think we neglected anything in the process. All the players and staff worked hard, but I’m upset that we didn’t get the result.” “I also think we can do better if we do it again. We had a short time to prepare for the league, so we talked to (the national team players) about not getting injured.”먹튀검증

GS Caltex outside hitter Kang So-hwi, who played as a fixer, said, “It’s not that the players didn’t try. Even though they were physically tired, they did their best 100%, and I was very upset that the result came out like that.” “I think the criticism is right. I don’t think the players are at fault. Korean volleyball needs to improve further.”

IBK’s Kim Hee-jin, a national apo jit spiker, underwent meniscus surgery on her right knee in February and hasn’t worn the flag this year. “I watched all the national team games. “I don’t think we’ll be able to achieve much in the next few years because it’s a generation change,” he said. “But I think our players will grow more through this experience. They need to work harder and hone their skills to be competitive on the international stage.” “The players are still young. I believe they will perform better with more experience.”