I dreamed of winning the championship before retirement, but I turned the threshold three times in a row

Volleyball Empress Kim Yeon-koung’s dream of winning the championship went up in smoke once again. After returning to the V-League for professional volleyball women, she stepped on the winning threshold three times, but all of them were twisted by a single margin and could not cross the threshold.

Heungkuk Life lost to Hyundai Engineering & Construction 2 to 3 in the third round of the 2023-24 V-League Championship match Champ match held at Samsan World Gymnasium in Incheon on the 1st. Heungkuk Life Insurance, which gave up all of its first and third games to Hyundai Engineering & Construction in the best-of-five championship match, ended this season as the runner-up.

I’ve been sweeping the “Winning Cup” since my first professional season, but I haven’t had any luck lately

The most painful thing about Heungkuk Life’s runner-up performance this season is Kim Yeon-koung. Since her professional career in Heungkuk Life in the 2005-06 season, she has won three regular league titles, three championships, and two championships in total ranking first in the regular league and winning championships. She has since become a world-class volleyball star by sweeping various MVPs and trophies in overseas leagues.

Kim Yeon-koung, who announced her retirement from the national team after the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, played with the determination to decorate the finale with the unified victory of Heungkuk Life Insurance. The intention was to achieve the unified victory, which was achieved in the first season of her professional debut, at the end. Born in 1988, although she was not young enough as a volleyball player, Kim Yeon-koung’s skills and physical strength were not much different from those of her heyday, so it was a feasible goal.

However, luck did not follow. In the 2020/21 season, he finished second in the regular season and was the runner-up in the championship. In the 2022/23 season, he finished the regular season first and went straight to the championship, but suffered a come-from-behind defeat by Korea Expressway Corporation in the championship, which frustrated his team’s overall victory. He also lost the lead to Hyundai Engineering & Construction by one point in the regular season, swallowing his disappointment. He ran to the last minute with the desire to at least win the championship, but the goddess of victory did not easily take sides with Heungkuk Life Insurance.

I did my part, but the result was bitter… I’m going back to retirement

Kim struggled as a solver whenever her team was in crisis, but the problem was that she was “alone” every time. When foreign players Willow and Raina formed a triangle formation with Kim, they performed well, but when they failed, they were close to Kim’s “one-man show.” A one-man show was fine against weak teams, but it was not enough when facing strong teams. Marcello Avon Dan-ja, head coach of Heungkuk Life Insurance, also used to criticize that “Only Kim Yeon-kyung played her part” throughout the season.

Now, Kim is facing a retirement crisis. Originally, she considered retiring as a pro soccer player from last season, but postponed her retirement for a while after signing a one-year FA contract at the request of her team and promising to support her. However, she would not comment when asked about her retirement every time she was interviewed as an instructor this season, and she would confess that she is still agonizing over the next season. In addition to her disappointment as she only finished runner-up several times, the possibility of extending her active career further is gaining weight given her skills and performance as a pro soccer player this season. 토토사이트