The expressions on the faces of the North Korean players whose elimination was confirmed were stiff. Both players and coaches avoided the eyes of Korean reporters.
The North Korean women’s volleyball team lost to Vietnam with a set score토토사이트of 1 to 3 (17-25 20-25 25-20 22-25) in the Hangzhou Asian Games quarterfinals held at the Changqian Campus gymnasium of Hangzhou Normal University, China on the 4th.
North Korea, which previously came in second place after China in the group stage, has one loss. On this day, victory in the Vietnam War was desperate.
Although he lost the 1st and 2nd sets relatively easily, he lost his fighting spirit from the 3rd set. The defensive organization centered around libero Pyun Lim-hyang and captain and setter Lim Hyang was revived, and main striker Kim Hyeon-joo (31 points) accounted for 42% (67 times) of the team’s total number of attacks (159 times). He led the way, taking responsibility for 37% of the goals scored.
The local spectators’ support was also focused on North Korea, which was a relatively weak side. The atmosphere on the field heated up as they won the 3rd set and trailed by 22-21 at the end of the 4th set.
However, it was not enough to stop Vietnam’s ace Tran Thi Thanh Hui (25 points). With his tall height of 1m93, Hui mercilessly trampled on North Korea’s blocking wall and defense. In the end, North Korea lost that day and was eliminated ahead of the inter-Korean showdown on the 5th.
In the past Asian Games, North and South Korea interacted relatively freely. They sometimes competed as a single team, and it was not uncommon for North Korean players to be interviewed by South Korean reporters.
However, due to the strained inter-Korean relations, North Korean athletes at this competition are completely ignoring South Korean reporters, regardless of the sport. Not only does he not respond to the Mixed Zone interview, he seems to be careful not to even make eye contact.
The same was true for North Korean women’s volleyball that day. The players walked quickly through the mixed zone, keeping their heads down and avoiding eye contact. Coach Lee Hyun-nam also spoke with referee Jang Jeong-hyang (daughter of former IOC member Jang Woong), but did not say a word to the reporters.