The South Korean men's volleyball team still managed to save face.
The South Koreans lost a thriller to Indonesia 3-2 (29-27, 19-25, 25-19, 21-25, 15-8) in the seventh and eighth place match at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Saturday.
The South Korean team traveled to Hangzhou with veteran setter Han (38-Korean Air) in an emergency blood transfusion, vowing to "bring home the Asian Games gold medal after 17 years since the 2006 Doha Games.
However, they were knocked out of medal contention before the opening ceremony and ended up with a 'no-medal' for the first time in 61 years.
Hwang Taek-ui (27-Sangmu) is perhaps the best example of what's wrong with men's volleyball in South Korea.
This isn't just because he can't push past a player 11 years his junior.
It's because he's a prime example of how Korean volleyball officials evaluate players.
If that view of Hwang as a "good setter" doesn't change, Korean men's volleyball will continue to suffer.
Taek-eui donned a KB Insurance jersey as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016-2017 rookie draft while he was still a sophomore at Sungkyunkwan University. 먹튀검증
It was the first time a setter had ever been drafted first overall.
After winning the Rookie of the Year award in his rookie season, Hwang made his senior national team debut at the 2017 FIVB World League International Men's Volleyball Tournament.
His team, KB Insurance, also treated him like an elite.
Before the start of the 2020-2021 season, KB Insurance signed Hwang to an annual contract worth 730 million won.
In doing so, Hwang became the "salary king" of professional volleyball, overtaking Hwang Taek-ui, who is still considered the best setter in Korea.
This was despite the fact that the setter had never led his team to 'spring volleyball' in the four seasons since his professional debut.