Kim Yeon-kyung, who retired from the national team at the end of the ‘Tokyo semifinal myth’, started helping juniors as an advisor, not as a player. Attention is focusing on whether the Korean women’s volleyball team, supported by the ‘Volleyball Empress’, will be able to overcome last year’s setbacks and be reborn.메이저놀이터
On the 16th, the Korean women’s volleyball team had a press conference and open training at the National Training Center in Jincheon, Chungcheongbuk-do. The national team led by coach Cesar Hernandez Gonzalez has been warming up at the Jincheon National Training Center since the 24th of last month for the 2023 International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) Volleyball Nations League (VNL), which will open in Turkiye on the 30th (local time).
Head coach César, who until recently served as a power analyst at Vakifbank in the Turkiye League, decided to join the team immediately from Turkiye according to his team’s schedule, and the national team is sweating with new coach Han Yu-mi and advisor Kim Yeon-kyung.
Kim Yeon-kyung said, “She accepted her offer of an advisor position because she wanted to help develop volleyball.” It’s been a long time since I’ve been training at the athlete’s village, and I feel new,” she said.
A number of major competitions are scheduled for this year. Korea will play the VNL in Turkey, Brazil, and Korea (Suwon) for three weeks from the 30th to July 16th, and will participate in the world qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics and the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China from September to October.
The primary gateway is VNL. The national team suffered all 12 defeats in the VNL last year. The retirement of veterans such as Kim Yeon-kyung, Yang Hyo-jin, and Kim Su-ji had a great influence. In the meantime, the world ranking fell from 14th to 23rd.
Kim Yeon-kyung said, “I have to achieve better results than last year at VNL, and my first goal is to show improvement from anyone’s point of view.” He visits Jincheon once or twice a week to help with training, and plans to accompany him to Turkiye field training.
One coach said, “The players and coaching staff say, ‘We are better prepared than last year.’ The players also went through pain last year, so they try to work hard on their own.” He also emphasized more aggressive volleyball, saying, “I am trying to make good use of height and serve, which are my strengths compared to the past.”
Park Jeong-ah, who succeeded Kim Yeon-kyung as captain, also pledged to promote. He said, “Last year’s grades were not good, so on the first day of the convocation, we talked about ‘Let’s work hard'” and “When playing the Asian Games, I think that breathing will match even if we just make eye contact.”