South Korea's men's volleyball loses to India for the first time in 11 years
South Korea's men's volleyball suffered a humiliating defeat in the first match of the Hangzhou Asian Games.
The Korean national team, led by head coach Lim Do-hun, lost to India with a set score of 2-3 (27-25 27-29 22-25 25-20 15-17) in the first Group C preliminary match at the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games held at Linping Sports Center in Hangzhou, China on the 20th.
South Korea, ranked 27th in the world, entered the tournament aiming for its first gold medal in 17 years since the 2006 Doha Games, but lost to India, ranked 73rd in the world, which was considered one step below from the first match.
It is the first time in 11 years that Korea has lost to India in an international competition involving professional players since the Asian Volleyball Federation (AVC) Cup match held in Vietnam in 2012. At that time, Korea lost in a full set match.
It was a tough first set win... Did you expect a shock defeat
South Korea's setter Han, middle blockers Kim Kyu-min and Kim Joon-woo, outside heaters Na Kyung-bok and Jeon Kwang-in, Apogit spiker Heo Soo-bong and Libero Park Kyung-min started.
At the beginning of the first set, Korea took the lead first when Heo Soo-bong's open attack and Na Kyung-bok's serve ace exploded. However, India's counterattack with 202cm-tall middle blocker Aswalai was also formidable.
South Korea, which allowed a 20-22 turnaround but turned the tables again with Jeon Kwang-in's serve ace, won 27-25 in deuce thanks to Na Kyung-bok's consecutive batting attacks and India's error.
However, there was a close deuce in the second set, and this time, after Korea was attacked by Kumar Binit, Lim Dong-hyuk's open attack was blocked by Rai's blocking, and India won 29-27 to balance it.
India, which gained momentum, scored in the third set with a high-altitude bombing using its tall height. South Korea, on the other hand, struggled as attacks were blocked one after another. Coach Lim Do-heon tried to make a change by replacing the setter with Hwang Taek-eui, but he was on the brink of losing 22-25.
Fortunately, South Korea targeted India's receiving line with a strong serve, and Na Kyung-bok, who was sluggish in the third set, won the fourth set 25-20 and took a breather.
But the crisis was not over. In the last five sets, South Korea couldn't cope with the pressure and was dragged to India by committing mistakes. South Korea, which conceded a match point 12-14, dramatically made deuce by scoring Jeon Kwang-in's open attack and Na Kyung-bok's second straight score with a direct kill.
And thanks to Na Kyung-bok's open attack, he succeeded in turning the game around 15-14, but the joy was brief and both Na Kyung-bok and Heo Soo-bong's attacks were blocked and he finally lost.
For South Korea, Na Kyung-bok scored 31 points, the most for both teams, while Jeon Kwang-in and Heo Soo-bong also scored 22 points each. However, unlike India's attacks that use various wings, he insisted on a too monotonous pattern of attacks. It was also regrettable that Jung Ji-seok, the leading striker, could not play due to back pain.
19 countries participated in men's volleyball at the Asian Games. The group stage will be divided into six groups, with the first and second place in each group advancing to the round of 12 tournaments.
South Korea, which belongs to Group C along with India and Cambodia, expected to top the group but lost to India from the first match. India, which also beat Cambodia 3-0 on the previous day, won two consecutive games to confirm its top spot in the group.
If Korea beats Cambodia on the 21st, it can advance to the round of 12 as second place in the group. However, he suffered an unexpected defeat to India, and his pride was greatly hurt. In addition, the rest of the games cannot be guaranteed to win easily.
It remains to be seen whether the defeat on this day will be a medicine or poison for the South Korean national team challenging for the Asian Games gold medal.