[Asian Games] Korea Men's Volleyball Secures First Win Against Cambodia... Advances to Round of 12 as Group 2nd Place

Victory Achieved but Unstable Game Flow in Set 1
Round of 12 Opponent is World Ranking 51 Pakistan

The South Korean men's volleyball team secured their first victory at the Hangzhou Asian Games, advancing to the round of 12. On the 21st, at the Linping Sports Center in Hangzhou, China, the Korean team defeated Cambodia with a set score of 3-0 (25-23 25-13 25-15). With this, they recorded 1 win and 1 loss in the group stage, advancing as the second place in their group to the round of 12. Ranked 27th in the world, the Korean team lost to India, ranked 73rd, the previous day with a set score of 2-3 (27-25 27-29 22-25 25-20 15-17), giving up first place in the group.

On the 21st, at the Linping Sports Center in Hangzhou, China, during the second match of Group C in the men's volleyball group stage of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, South Korea's Jeong Ji-seok is attempting an attack against Cambodia.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

On this day, the middle blockers Kim Minjae and Kim Gyumin took the court in the center, with libero Park Kyungmin. The attackers were Heo Subong and Na Kyungbok. Jung Jiseok, who missed the previous game due to back pain, also contributed. However, the Korean team showed a somewhat unsteady flow in the early stages of the game against Cambodia, considered at an amateur level.

At the start of the match, despite almost no height difference, the team conceded 4 blocking points in the first set alone and caused 11 attack errors. At 6-8, after Heo Subong failed a serve and was blocked, they allowed 10 points. At 14-15, Na Kyungbok failed to properly handle a ball floating in the center of the court. At 18-18, after the opponent's error brought them to 20 points first, momentum rose with Jung Jiseok's service ace and Kim Gyumin's block, but shaky serves and receives led to 4 consecutive points lost, tying the score at 22-22. Fortunately, Kim Minjae's quick attack and Na Kyungbok's push attack succeeded, allowing them to narrowly win the first set.

The second set was played a bit more smoothly. With side attacks from Lim Donghyuk and Jung Jiseok, they scored consecutively from 3-3 to 9-3. Although the opponent caught up to 12-9, they reduced errors to 3 in the second set and succeeded in blocking points (3-0), winning the second set as well.

With momentum on their side, in the third set, Kim Minjae scored 2 attack points and Han Seonsu made a service ace, leading by 3 points. They gradually widened the gap, created match point with Jung Jiseok's spike, and finished the game with Heo Subong's attack.

Jung Jiseok scored the highest points for both teams with 11 points, followed by Kim Minjae (10 points), Lim Donghyuk (9 points), and Kim Gyumin (8 points).

The round of 12 match on the 22nd will be against Pakistan, who advanced as the first place in Group D (world ranking 51st).