“I want to see (Sung-jin) climb to a high place and get frustrated (Korean Air Lim Dong-hyuk).”
The so-called ’99s (players born in 1999)’, the future and ‘present’ of men’s professional volleyball, had a fierce gibberish match off the court. Like the ‘Chin Chin’ I’ve been close to for over 10 years, I was confident of victory with sharp yet bone-hitting words.
The Korea Volleyball Federation held the 2022-23 Dodram V-League Postseason Media Day at Nuritkum Square in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul on the 20th.
In the men’s division, Korean Air coach Tommy Tilikhainen and Lim Dong-hyuk, Hyundai Capital coach Choi Tae-woong and Heo Soo-bong, Woori Card coach Shin Young-cheol and Kim Ji-han, and KEPCO coach Kwon Young-min and Lim Seong-jin were present.
In the preliminary interview prior to the official event, ’99s’ boasted outstanding volubility.
Nicknamed ‘Prince of Suwon’ for his good looks, Lim Seong-jin of KEPCO puts a smile on his face when he hears the story of his friends.
Lim Seong-jin said, “I met Dong-hyuk before Media Day, and he said, ‘I hope the KEPCO will come up.’ He said he wanted to see Seong-jin frustrated on the threshold of the final. ” he laughed.
Lim Seong-jin and Lim Dong-hyuk are from Jecheon, Chungcheongbuk-do and have been playing volleyball together since elementary school. Lim Seong-jin left Jecheon Industrial High School and went to Sungkyunkwan University, and wore a KEPCO uniform in the 2nd place in the 1st round of the 2020-21 season.
Lim Seong-jin said, “I started playing volleyball in the 4th grade of elementary school, but Dong-hyuk has already been playing it since then” and showed off their friendship by saying, “We have been together for at least 14 years.”
When Lim Seong-jin was asked about his friend’s strengths and weaknesses, he answered without hesitation. He explained, “Donghyuk has good physicality,” and “he’s a tricky striker with long arms and a big body.” On the other hand, he added about the downside, “Since he is an apogee spiker, his basic skills are poor. Donghyuk doesn’t have to 바카라사이트(receive).”
Lim Dong-hyuk also had a different feeling of meeting his old friend in a high place.
When asked how he felt about meeting Lim Seong-jin, he said with a serious expression, “I’m thrilled to be able to come face to face with Seong-jin on Media Day.”
However, when asked about Lim Seong-jin’s shortcomings, Lim Dong-hyuk’s eyes also flashed. He said, “Sungjin is good-looking, but she’s good at volleyball,” and then raised his head, “But she pouts well. She hides her shyness, and when I see her, I can tell if she’s pouting just by looking at her expression.”
Kim Ji-han, who left KEPCO ahead of the 2022-23 season and wore a Woori Card uniform to play volleyball in the first spring, also showed strong confidence. Kim Ji-han, the ‘hit product’ of Woori Card, will make his first postseason debut as the team’s main outside hitter.
Kim Ji-han, who is dealing with KEPCO in the single-pane semi-PO, said, “
Lim Seong-jin, who ate rice with Kim Ji-han at KEPCO, said, “I’ve known her for a long time since I was young, and we shared a room at KEPCO.” “he explained.
He continued, “We won the semi-PO last year and went up, so we have a lot of confidence that we can bring back the memories of that time.”
Meanwhile, the men’s postseason opens with a semi-playoff for two consecutive years. On the 22nd, Woori Card and KEPCO will decide who will advance to the playoffs through a semi-playoff. The winning team will play a playoff against 2nd placed Hyundai Capital starting on the 24th in a best-of-three game.
Korean Air, who arrived first in the championship game, competes for the championship with the playoff winner on the 30th in a best-of-five system.