Bring the heat from Tokyo Olympics to home

“Bring the heat of Tokyo to our own home.” The women’s volleyball team is garnering national attention after it made it to the semifinals in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Naturally, the 2021 Uijeongbu·Dodram Cup is also attracting attention. The event is highly likely to be held without audience due to the pandemic, but it will be the touchstone of the official season’s success through viewer ratings. Men’s volleyball matches will be held from Saturday to August 21 and Women’s from August 23 to 29 at the Uijeongbu indoor gymnasium.

National team athletes started to have a rest right from the moment they returned home on Monday. They will rest up to one week at home or at a dorm before joining the team training again. They can play at the Cup as the Korea Volleyball Association decided not to attend the Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship to be held from August 29 to September 4 in the Philippines.

Team captain Kim Yeon-koung (33, Shanghai Guangming) who left Heungkuk Life Insurance after finishing a season and joined the Chinese league is currently staying at her home in Yongin, Gyeonggi. As the Chinese league’s schedule has not been fixed, she will stay in Korea and rest for around a month. She plans to visit a hospital on Wednesday to get her right knee checked as she suffered from knew pain during the Olympics.

Kim is sought after by various TV programs and commercials. She already received dozens of invites. “I am not planning on appearing many TV programs because having a rest is my priority. I am looking mainly at programs where my team members are invited along,” she said.


Hong-Gu Kang windup@donga.com