Quick and flexible feedback needed
The game is played by the players, but the manager’s competence also plays a big part. Now is the time for director Lim Do-heon to demonstrate his abilities. Korea beat Pakistan with a set score of 3-1 (26-28, 25-20, 32-30, 25-22) in the group F match of the 2023 Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Men’s Championship held in Urmia, Iran on the 21st. took 1st place in the group. Heo Soo-bong scored 26 points, the most in the game, followed by Jeong Ji-seok with 23 points. Lim Dong-hyuk, who started as a middle blocker, also performed well with 11 points.
However, the content of the game was not perfect. First of all, there was a lack of room management skills. It committed 33 crimes, more than Pakistan (31). In particular, it was painful to see a sub room that kept breaking the flow in a situation where the score difference was not large. In the 3rd set deuce close match, it was enough to dedicate 4 points to the opponent only by serving.
The individual skills of the players were also not perfect. In particular, the performance of Hwang Taek-eui and Na Gyeong-bok, who joined the national team during their military service, was disappointing. 스포츠토토 Hwang Taek-eui showed his skills from the middle of the 3rd set and finished the match well, but his passing and game management until then were unstable. In particular, the passes spread with both wings were subtly misaligned with the strikers’ steps, and there were frequent passes that Heo Soo-bong and Jung Ji-seok had to hit while bending their backs.
On the other hand, Na Kyung-bok finished all three serving turns in the first set with a mistake, and in the receive, he became a target for Pakistan and showed an uneasy appearance. Even in his strengths of attack and side block, he was still not on the right track. To sum up, it was a situation where weaknesses were highlighted and strengths were not revealed.
What was disappointing at this point was director Lim Do-heon’s quick and flexible judgment. There was enough time from the last game against Bangladesh to confirm that Na Kyung-bok’s condition was still not normal, and since the first set was given to Pakistan, it was a situation where another outside heater could be started instead of Na Gyeong-bok in the second set. However, coach Lim did not change the starting list for the second set.
Afterwards, as soon as the second set started, Na Kyung-bok failed to receive properly again and dedicated a direct attack score to Musawer Khan. It may be a consequential story, but it was like giving one point that didn’t have to be given with a late replacement.
The timing of Hwang Taek-eui’s replacement was also the same. Following the first set, Hwang Taek-eui’s pass was somewhat unstable in the second set. In 4-3, Kim Kyu-min and Gyu-min couldn’t get along, and in 10-7, the pipe pass given to Jeong Ji-seok was too low and ended up being a mistake. However, coach Lim judged that it was not the timing for a replacement both times, and only after Heo Soo-bong’s quick open was caught by Usman Faryad Ali’s blocking, leading to a 10-9 one-point lead, Hwang Taek-eui was removed and Hwang Seung-bin was put in. It was a scene that made me wonder what would have happened if the replacement had been made a little faster.
There were areas to be supplemented not only in the player replacement but also in the speed of coach Lim’s tactical adjustments. Musawer Khan’s quick attack was a fierce weapon for Pakistan at the beginning of the game, but Pakistan’s setter Hamid Yazman took advantage of it from the beginning and actively used the pipe centering on Usman. Usman attacked the Korean middle blockers unintentionally while they were deceived by the fake quick attack and did not block him.
However, Korea’s middle blockers were unable to keep the pipe in check until the middle of the match. Two blocks continued to appear in the fake fast attack, but a situation arose that the pipe could not even lift a block. Usman is not a physically outstanding player (189cm), but veteran Kim Gyu-min, who has good blocks in the center, and Lim Dong-hyuk, who was in good condition that day, were holding out. It was an option.
From the upcoming round of 12 playoffs, we have to deal with more demanding teams than Bangladesh or Pakistan. If coach Lim’s feedback becomes faster and more flexible during this process, it can exert a positive influence on the players’ game content. In fact, even in the match today, the scene where coach Lim sharply caught Pakistan’s net touch in the fourth set 23-21 and then made a match point through video review had a decisive influence on the outcome of the match.
In order to defeat stronger teams and rise to a higher place, not only the players but all members of the national team must earnestly sharpen themselves. Director Lim is no exception. I wonder if coach Lim will be able to become a strong supporter of the players by adding the ability to quickly change tactics to the existing veteran’s skill for the rest of the tournament.