Im Do-hun, head coach of the South Korean men's national volleyball team, was speechless after a crushing, straight-set defeat to Pakistan in its first knockout match at the 19th Asian Games in China on Friday.
"I have nothing to say," he told reporters in a mixed-zone interview after his team suffered a 3-0 loss (19-25, 22-25, 21-25) to Pakistan in the 12-nation second round at China Textile City Sports Centre Gymnasium in Shaoxing, outside the main host city of Hangzhou. "Some players are enduring minor injuries, but this cannot be an excuse."
With its quest for the 15th consecutive Asiad medal brought to a halt, South Korea was relegated to the classification round for 7th-12th places among the losers in the 12-team knockout stage. It will have the next match against Bahrain on Sunday to decide the final ranking at the Asian Games.
For the first time in over six decades, South Korea will not win an Asiad medal in men's volleyball. The country had reached the podium in the sport at every Asian Games since 1966, a span of 14 straight competitions. South Korea won gold medals in 1978, 2002 and 2006, and was the runner-up in 2018.
Im, a legendary opposite hitter in his playing days, said his team failed to strike a balance in its offense. Ace wing spiker Jung Ji-seok struggled with back pain and Jeon Kwang-in suffered an ankle injury, limiting the coach's choices of weapon in two preliminary round matches and the knockout match at the continental tournament.
Without Jung, South Korea was upset by India in its opening preliminary stage match Wednesday.
He said South Korea needs to make more effort to regain strength to compete with former rivals like Japan, China and Iran on the regional stage.
"This is our position at the international level. We need to prepare a lot of things," he said. "I think we have to work on fundamentals like defense."
The 27th-ranked South Korea has been suffering from worse-than-expected performances in recent international competitions.
At this year's Asian Volleyball Challenger Cup in July, South Korea was upset by 73rd-ranked Bahrain in the semifinals en route to a third place finish, despite the absence of China and Japan. At the 2023 Asian Volleyball Championship last month, South Korea fell to China in the semifinals and ended up in fifth place.
Source: Yonhap News Agency