(Xinhua Hangzhou, China) - Tragedy struck the South Korean men's volleyball team, led by head coach Lim Do-heon, in their first match of the Hangzhou Asian Games.
The humiliation of being brought to their knees by India for the first time in 11 years put a red light on their bid for Asian Games gold after 17 years. It was an unforgivable defeat in both content and outcome.
South Korea lost to India 2-3 (27-25 27-29 22-25 25-20 17-15) in straight sets in their men's volleyball Group C match at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games at the Linping Sports Center Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China on Tuesday. South Korea is ranked 27th in the world, while India is ranked 73rd. 카지노사이트
With the win, India clinched first place in Group C and advanced to the round of 12. South Korea can still make it out of the group if they win their second match against Cambodia at the same venue on Nov. 21, but they were reminded of the harsh reality that they have no hope of making the knockout rounds with their current form.
It wasn't a bad start. Despite the unexpected withdrawal of Joo Jeong-seok from the starting lineup, the team took a 10-6 lead as international veterans like Heo Soo-bong, Jeon Kwang-in, Na Kyung-bok, and Kim Kyu-min showed good form.
However, the tall and athletic Legion India proved to be more effective than expected. Korea's offense struggled from the middle of the first set, as they couldn't easily break through India's middle blocker line. Frequent unforced errors led to a small gap in the score.
At 3-9, a combination of attack errors and unforced errors led to a quick tie. At 16-16, Heo Su-bong's attack was blocked by India's Vinit Kumar, turning the game on its head. At 20-22 in the first set, the Koreans had to worry about a 'Hangzhou disaster'.
Korea breathed a sigh of relief after kills from Jeon Kwang-in and Na Kyung-bok leveled the score at 22-22. They were disappointed to have to go to deuce after saving a set point to tie the match at 24-23, but an opening success by Na Kyung-bok at 25-25 and a team error by India added another point to take the first set 27-25.
The second set was also close. India looked to start the second set on a high note with an opening success by Na Kyung-bok, but Korea matched them with their height. India did not surrender points easily to Korea, although their play often showed a lack of fundamentals. They capitalized on Korea's lapses in serve to keep things tight.
At 7-7, India's successful attack brought Korea back to within one point. At 11-10, a service error by Na Kyung-bok immediately tied the score at 11-11, but an Indian attack shook the Korean receiving line and put them down 11-13.
Korea could not easily close the two-point gap after that. The game took an unexpected turn midway through the second set when it was tied at 14-16. While India gradually racked up points thanks to setter APPAVU Muthusamy's steady ball distribution and powerful spikes from the Indian attackers, Korea's defense was shaky. At 17-19, Jeon Kwang-in's attack errors combined to make it 17-20.
At 21-23, Heo Su-bong's attack was blocked by Kim Kyu-min to force a 23-23 tie, but the Koreans lost another deuce battle to take the first set. At 26-26, Na Kyung-bok's kill gave Korea a set point, but back-to-back points from India's main man Vinit Kumar brought the score back to 27-28, and Lim Dong-hyuk's attack was blocked by Ral Ashwal to hand India the second set.
South Korea was completely crushed by India's momentum in the third set. India's height did not allow Korea to score easily. On the other hand, Korea repeated the pattern of not being able to deal with the strong spikes of the Indian attackers. The score went from 7-7 to 8-12 in a matter of moments, and the game gradually shifted in India's favor. At 14-21 midway through the third set, momentum was completely lost.
Korea managed to pull within 22-24 at the end of the third set with a combination of Indian attack errors and a successful attack by Heo Su-bong, but that was as close as they would get. An attack error by Jeon Kwang-in gave India set point, allowing India to take the set and the match.
With their backs against the wall, Korea took the opportunity to fight back in the fourth set. Our strong serve slowly came to life and shook the Indian receiving line a bit. At 6-6, Na Kyung-bok's attack, Hwang Taek-ui's service ace, and Kim Min-jae's block gave us a 10-6 lead, and we gradually recovered.
Korea maintained a 4-5 point lead until the middle of the fourth set, gradually getting their offensive and defensive balance back on track. Heo Soo-bong showed off his good form and was able to find a way out of every jam to give Korea the fourth set. With a 25-20 win in the fourth set, Korea took the match to a fifth set.
The fifth set wasn't as smooth for Kook. He was down 5-8 in the middle of the fifth set and looking increasingly defeated, but Heo Su-bong stepped up. Back-to-back successful attacks by Heo brought the score to a dramatic 8-8 tie and kept hope alive until the end.
The Koreans were then down 12-14 but refused to give up. At 13-14, Na Kyung-bok won a dramatic deuce with a successful attack. Na immediately followed up with another attack to give South Korea match point.
However, Korea was unable to close out the match at 15-14. India showed that they were not going to go down without a fight on the court as they calmly converted their attacks. After tying the game again, Heo Su-bong's attack was blocked by the Indian blocker, forcing her to take a knee.
South Korean men's volleyball has struggled at the Summer Asian Games since winning gold at the 2002 Busan Asian Games and 2006 Doha Asian Games. After settling for bronze at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games and 2014 Incheon Asian Games, they finished with a silver medal at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, their first final appearance in 12 years.
At the Hangzhou Asian Games, they will be aiming to regain their position as Asia's top-ranked team and win the gold medal, but their chances of winning the title were thrown into doubt by India, who were labeled as underdogs from the first match.
Meanwhile, men's volleyball at the Asian Games will see 19 teams compete in six groups. The first and second place finishers in each group will advance to the round of 12 tournament to fight for a medal spot. Since winning gold at the 2002 Busan Asian Games and 2006 Doha Asian Games, South Korean men's volleyball has struggled at the Summer Asian Games. After settling for bronze at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games and 2014 Incheon Asian Games, they finished with silver at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, their first final appearance in 12 years.
At the Hangzhou Asian Games, they will be looking to regain their Asian supremacy and go for gold, but their title challenge was thwarted by India, who were labeled as underdogs from the first game.