A leading media outlet in Vietnam, ranked 40th in the world, has criticized South Korea’s (36th) women’s volleyball team for thinking it is “naturally better than Southeast Asia.
The daily newspaper Thanh Nien said, “South Korea’s first-ever semifinal failure at the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Women’s Championships is said to have shocked the nation. But I want to ask, why are you sad about losing to Vietnam and Thailand (ranked 14th in the world)?” the newspaper reported.
Tân Nhiên is Vietnam’s second-largest newspaper by circulation. “Thailand won the 22nd Asian Women’s Volleyball Championship and Vietnam finished fourth. Is it a pity that Korea lost to a stronger team?” it asked.
South Korea finished the 2023 Asian Volleyball Championship in sixth place, their lowest finish ever. It was the first time they did not finish in the top four of the AVC Women’s Championship. They lost to Vietnam 2-3 in straight sets and Thailand 0-3.
“It’s a sport where you can lose to anyone, so why is Korea only sad about losing to Thailand and Vietnam? Don’t they think they learned a good lesson from playing against teams stronger than them?” said Thanh Nien.
With 20 semifinal appearances, Korea is second only to China (21) and tied with Japan. However, in this tournament, Korea fell behind not only China (6th in the world) and Japan (8th) in the final rankings, but also Vietnam and Kazakhstan (33rd).
“During the Asian Championships, Korean women’s volleyball lacked professionalism, determination, and strong will, and there needs to be better support for the national team (at the association level),” Tanien said.
“I want to say ‘Bravo!’ to Thailand for the result (of winning the title) and the way they reached the top of Asian women’s volleyball,” said Korea’s head coach Cesar Hernández González (46-Spain).안전놀이터
“Bravo” translates to “well done,” “good,” and “exciting. The Thai version of the portal site Line also expressed its understanding through its own content that “the head coach of the Korean women’s national volleyball team expressed his respect and admiration”.
“The Thai women’s volleyball team has been a good mirror for everyone, and I would like to congratulate everyone involved, including the Thai fans, for contributing to the wonderful atmosphere of the Asian Championships (as host nation),” Cesar added.