“We have nothing to add. This is how good we are.”
The South Korean men’s volleyball team, led by head coach Lim Do-heon, fell to Pakistan 0-3 (19-25, 22-25, 21-25) in three sets in their quarterfinal match at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games 토토 at the China Textile City Sports Center Gymnasium in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China on Sunday.
It was an out-of-hand defeat. Heo Soo-bong (Hyundai Capital) was the only player to score in double digits. They were out-blocked 5-9 and out-attacked 34-45.
This was not the same Pakistan that won 3-1 at the Asian Championship in August. While Pakistan has grown, South Korea has stagnated.
South Korea is no longer an Asian powerhouse. It has been a consistent medalist since the sport became an Asian Games program in 1958. It was 61 years since their fifth-place finish in Jakarta in 1962. From Bangkok 1966 to Jakarta-Palembang 2018, South Korea won 14 consecutive medals, but that was a long time ago. After 61 years, they were left without a medal.
After the game, coach Lim Do-heon said, “I don’t have anything to say. (Jeon) Kwang-in had a bad ankle, and (Chung) Ji-seok came here and didn’t feel well. But these are just excuses,” he lamented.
As for what went wrong in the match, Korea did not have an easy time against Pakistan, as they were out-hit 34-45 and out-blocked 5-9.
“It was difficult for us to play in this tournament because we didn’t have a good left-right balance,” said Lim Do-heon, “Our middle blockers are weak. But this is also an excuse. I have nothing to say about it.”
He added, “This is our performance in international competitions. I think we need to prepare a lot in the future, including basic defense,” he said, bowing his head and exiting the mixed zone.
