Volleyball captain Kang So-hwi eyes medal in likely final Asian Games
Summary
Korean women’s volleyball team captain Kang So-hwi said Monday she wants an Asian Games medal in what is likely her final Asiad as a national team player. She spoke after training in Okazaki ahead of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Korea will open Pool D play against Hong Kong on Wednesday at Park Arena Komaki. The team will also face Qatar and Vietnam.
Key Facts
- Kang So-hwi is 29 and has been on the national team since 2016.
- Korea won bronze at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.
- At the 2023 Hangzhou Games, Korea failed to reach the medal round after losing to Vietnam in the preliminary round, ending a women’s volleyball medal streak that had lasted since 2006.
- Korea will face Hong Kong, Qatar and Vietnam in Pool D, and the top two teams from each of the four groups will advance to the quarterfinals.
Korea's women's volleyball team captain Kang So-hwi, center, laughs during a training session at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium in Okazaki, some 50 kilometers southeast of Nagoya, Japan, ahead of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, Monday. Yonhap
Korean women's volleyball team captain Kang So-hwi said Monday she has one special goal at the upcoming Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, which will be her second and likely last Asiad as a national team player.
"I want to win an Asian Games medal for my teammates," Kang told reporters after an official training session at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium in Okazaki, some 50 kilometers southeast of Nagoya.
"To achieve this goal, I will do my best fearlessly and without hesitation," she said.
The 29-year-old outside hitter first joined the national squad in 2016 and helped Korea win bronze at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.
At the 2023 Hangzhou Games, Korea failed to advance to the medal round after losing to Vietnam in the preliminary round. It was the first time since 2006 that Korea had failed to win an Asian Games medal in women's volleyball.
For Kang, it was a painful memory, but she stressed that she did not want to let it weigh on her any longer.
"It was a big hurt. But I do not want to stop with that memory. I want to overcome it and grab a medal," she said.
Setter Kim Da-in said she is preparing some sophisticated attacking tactics to improve the team's speed against well-organized teams with tall middle blockers.
"I know we are still behind other teams in many things. We all know that well, and we are making every effort to make up for that part," she said. "I am ready to use our speed and set plays to disturb opponents."
Middle blocker Lee Da-hyeon is also confident the team can achieve a podium finish if it attacks and defends one step faster than its opponents against Hong Kong, Qatar and Vietnam.
"I think we need to find our own color, and we are still finding it," Lee said. "If our middle blockers play in a more aggressive way, we can help our hitters score well."
Korea will face Hong Kong, Qatar and Vietnam in Pool D of the preliminary round. The top two teams from each of the four groups will advance to the quarterfinals.
Korea's campaign will begin at 4 p.m. Wednesday against Hong Kong at Park Arena Komaki in Komaki, just north of Nagoya.
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