“I heard training in Korea is difficult…” “Do you speak English?” Command tower facing a 24-person challenger, careful exploration 

• allforyouclick
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• on Apr 26, 2023

 We met at a table, not a court. 24 Asian Quarter Challengers and 7 Command Towers started a full-scale search.

The coldness before the tryout has already disappeared. Some players are already confirmed to go to Korea.

On the 26th, a face-to-face interview with the Asia Quarter participants and the command tower was held at the Jeju Sun Hotel. Apart from the practice game, the eyes of the coaches of the 7 teams shone sharply as they began to pick out the best by looking at each player’s peculiarities.

The 24 players were organized into three groups and participated in the interview. Mongolia (4 players), Japan (3 players), Malaysia (1 player) in Group A, Philippines (4 players), Hong Kong (1 player), Indonesia (2 players), Thailand (1 player) in Group B, Taiwan (8 players) It was Group C.

Attendees were staff members such as coaches and managers of each team. They approached the event carefully, asking detailed questions ranging from the players’ military service, schoolwork, and selection to the national team, to communication skills, religion, and related food.

In particular, the directors’ attention was focused on ‘whether or not to be selected during the season’. The V-League runs from mid-October to April. Most of them are members of national teams. Although it does not directly overlap with the season, there were many cases where they were scheduled to participate in the Hangzhou Asian Games or the AVC Cup.

In terms of language proficiency, Bayarsaihan and Eddy (above Mongolia), who are counted as ‘number one candidates’, were also outstanding. Those who had already experienced 4-5 years of college volleyball in Korea seemed to have completely assimilated into Korean culture as they sat down and exchanged greetings with the coaches and asked how they were doing. In addition, due to the on-site situation where there was no Mongolian interpreter, I took on the role of interpreter for Batsuri Batur and Kangal Tamira (above Mongolia).

Bayarsaihan drew attention by responding fluently to Korean Air director Tommy Tilikhainen’s sudden English question. When asked why he applied for the position as a middle blocker, Eddie replied, “I wanted to show potential in various positions,” but was faced with a sharp answer, “I need to know what I am better at.”

Coach Tillikainen showed interest in Japanese players as well, as he served as manager for three seasons in the Japanese league Nagoya Wolfdogs. Lee, who showed outstanding skills as a libero, asked Ryohei (Japan), “Who is the best libero in Japan right now, and what do you need to surpass him?” Issey Otake and Takahiro Imamura (above Japan) also received praise for their answers in English they practiced diligently.

Takahiro said, “I had the experience of doing a homestay in Korea 20 years ago. Japanese volleyball is cautious and static, but Korea plays very active volleyball. I want to challenge myself in the Japanese style and learn the Korean style. Korea is my destiny.” received. In particular, even though all three are unemployed players belonging to Panasonic, they expressed their will, saying, “If I am selected for a tryout, I will leave the company and focus on the V-League.”

Tsai Peichang (Taiwan),스포츠토토 the tallest player in this tryout, with a 2m3 tall body, also received many questions. On the other hand, Amonthep Conhan (Thailand), who emerged as the surprise star of the tryout the previous day, could not speak English and did not have a Thai interpreter, so he borrowed the help of a translator and worked desperately. Malaysian, Hong Kong and Filipino players spoke English relatively freely, while Indonesian players benefited from an interpreter. Hu In-jeong, coach of KB Insurance, immediately understood the responses of the Taiwanese players and showed their reactions.

Liu Hongjie (Taiwan) laughed at the audience by replying, “I met Gasparini (former Korean Air) in the Japanese league. The training for the Korean team is really difficult.” Woori Card manager Shin Young-cheol laughed, saying, “It must have been really difficult for that player.” Wu Chung-yang (Taiwan), who came from the Spanish League, and Liu Hongzhi, who said he worked with coach Tommy in Japan, also received many questions.

When asked, “What percentage is your current physical condition compared to the season?”, a Taiwanese player confidently shouted, “It’s 100%. I’m always 100%,” making the audience laugh. Because it wasn’t a question to hear his confidence. As most of them had digested the league until recently, many answered that they were 60-80%.

In the case of religion, attention was focused on Dimas Saputra (Indonesia) who replied, “I believe in Islam.” He explained, “We must observe the set worship times. Pork (non-halal standard) is not allowed. We must also observe Ramadan (weekday fasting in September).” One player surprised everyone by replying, “I eat everything well, but I don’t eat cats.” Simji & Chin (Malaysia) said, “I often saw Seongmin Moon (Hyundai Capital) play. I want to show a good performance in a higher league.”

The search for each other is now over. Only a sober evaluation remains. The fate of the challengers will be decided in the draft held on the 27th.