Korean women`s volleyball team to vie for Olympic finals

The Korean women’s volleyball team is seeking a berth to the finals of the Olympic Games for two consecutive events by banking on "young bloods."

Team Korea will depart for Japan on Thursday to participate at the 2015 Women’s Volleyball World Cup, which will take place in the island country from Saturday. The winner and the runner-up at the event will gain berths for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. A total of 12 teams, including two top-ranked teams from each continent, and Japan, the event’s host, will take part in the upcoming event. Korea is expected to have an uphill battle because strong teams including the U.S., the champion of the last year’s World Championship, are in the race.

However, Korea is gearing up for "revolution" by banking on players whose ages are far younger than before at 23.8 years on average. With the Korean men’s volleyball team having failed to advance to the finals of the Olympic Games by ranking seventh at the Asian Championship held in Iran recently, the Korean women’s team is committed to revitalizing the Korean volleyball community anew.

Coach Lee Jeong-cheol has high hopes for young players’ strong performances. He is paying attention to "veteran" Kim Yeon-gyeong (27) and Lee Jae-young (19), who are playing the left position. Lee Jae-young, who was the rookie of the year in last season’s V League, has displayed impressive play in the last season by earning 13.85 points on average per game. Lee So-young also acquired 21.2 points per game in five games of the U-23 Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship in May, receiving the best left prize. Also, Lee Jae-young’s younger twin sister, Lee Da-young (19), and setter Cho Song-hwa (22) are expected to fill the gaps left by Lee Hyo-hee (35) and Kim Sa-ni (34), formerly long-term members of the national team.

Although many young players have been recruited to form Team Korea, there are also veteran players in the team as well. Kim Yeon-gyeong is a world-class left attacker who is armed with capability in both offense and defense. A player who advanced to the semifinals at the London Olympics in 2012, she is expected to display good leadership among younger players. “I have big burden on my shoulders. The team’s young players will have more expectations from me," Kim said. "I will do my best to help younger teammates.” Hwang Yeon-joo (29) is also joining the national team for the first time in two years, and will assist younger players.

“I have high expectations from the team since it consists of balanced numbers of young and older players," Coach Lee said. "Although strong opponents are taking part in the event in Japan, we will do our best to achieve the best possible performance.”

creating@donga.com