Jeong Ji-seok (Korean Air), a member of the Korean men’s volleyball team, took home a medal as he boarded the plane to participate in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.
This is the bronze medal won at the 2023 Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Challenge Cup last July. At that time, the national team finished in third place after being defeated by Bahrain in the semifinals.
There is a reason why I brought the medal all the way here. This is to continually relive the disappointment of failing to achieve the goal and only winning a bronze medal.
Jeong Ji-seok, who met after the match against Cambodia in the second round of the men’s volleyball Group C match held at the Linping Sports Center Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China on the 21st, said, “I was so angry about the bronze medal I won during the AVC that I brought it with me. I hung it on the front door of the athletes’ village and decided to reflect on it while looking at it. “That’s what I’m trying to do,” he said.
Jeong Ji-seok’s challenge, which entered Hangzhou with such strong determination, was met with danger from the start.
This is because he recently felt back pain and a red light came on regarding his physical condition. The injury of Jeong Ji-seok, who is good at both offense and defense, is also bad news for his national team.
Jeong Ji-seok only stayed in the warm-up zone in Korea’s first group match against India held on the 20th.
Meanwhile, Korea started the tournament with a shock loss after collapsing with India in a close match in a full set. Korea, ranked 27th in the world, was even more hurt by the loss to India, ranked 73rd, which they considered to be one step below them.
Jeong Ji-seok, who had no choice but to watch his team’s defeat, said, “I had many mixed emotions. It was an emotion I had never experienced even in my own team. (The competition) was postponed for a year, and we barely made it this far. I am even more desperate. I am desperate for this.” “I didn’t know how to express myself, and it was frustrating that I could only raise my voice alone,” he said.
Ji-seok Jeong, who raised his voice after the first game and said, “The team comes before my injury,” started as a starter in the second game of the group stage against Cambodia.
And he led Korea’s shutout victory by scoring 11 points, the most on the team. Korea, with 1 win and 1 loss in the group stage, finished second in Group C and secured a ticket to the round of 12.
The challenge for the top continues to make up for the disappointment of winning the bronze medal two months ago.
Jeong Ji-seok said, “(After losing in the first game), I talked to the players, saying, ‘Let’s win it all and let’s go, these are the opponents we have to beat to win the gold medal anyway.'” He added, “Even though we lost in the first game, we tried not to spoil the atmosphere and show off, so we were good to each other.” “I spoke,” he introduced.
Unfortunately, Jeong Ji-seok’s physical condition is still not normal.
Jeong Ji-seok confessed, “The pain started coming back after the third set,” and said, “I took medicine in the infirmary this morning, and the pain was relieved a little, but not completely. Still, I’m glad I played better than yesterday.” got off
Since I’m not feeling well메이저사이트, I tend to get nervous even during games. Jeong Ji-seok said, “I was cautious.
He then gave credit to his teammates, saying, “So I hit it carefully, but there are good setters (on our team). Fortunately, the setters stepped up well, so we were able to finish the game without too much trouble.”
A variable in the remaining games could also be Jeong Ji-seok’s physical condition.
Jeong Ji-seok said, “If you are a professional player and a member of the national team, taking care of your body is a basic requirement,” and emphasized, “The primary goal is to bring the best physical condition I can.”
The reason I can run even when my body hurts is because of the strength that the Taegeuk symbol gives me.
Jeong Ji-seok smiled and said, “Isn’t he a member of the national team?” and then strengthened his resolve, saying, “I get angry when I see this (AVC Challenge Cup) medal. With that in mind, I have to endure it even if it hurts.”