“It was good to be able to show it in the game as we prepared.”
Choi Jung-min (21-IBK), who had cried her eyes out after the shutout win two days earlier, finally smiled broadly with her team. At the sight of his granddaughter’s improvement, IBK head coach Kim Ho-cheol (68)카지노사이트 couldn’t help but smile.
IBK defeated GS Caltex in straight sets, 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-17), in the second match of Group B of the 2023 Gumi Dodram Cup Professional Volleyball Tournament at Park Jung-hee Gymnasium in Gwangpyeong-dong, Gumi, Gyeongsangbuk-do, at 3:30 p.m. today.
Choi Jung-min started at middle blocker in the match and combined with Kim Hyun-jung to score eight points, including two blocking points, to help IBK win their second straight match. She performed well offensively and defensively with a 42.86% attacking success rate and a 33.33% receiving efficiency. He also had nine effective blocks, the most of any player on either team.
After the game, Choi’s face was filled with a bright smile. It was a 180-degree change from the game against Heungkuk Life two days earlier. Choi, who also started the first game against Heungkuk Life, scored only six points with the team’s worst attack efficiency of 9.09%. Perhaps that’s why Choi was the only one in the IBK team who was smiling for the postgame photo, but he was in tears and could barely look up. The only one who could manage to look up was Choi’s coach, Choi Ho-cheol, who was trying to take a picture with him.
Ahead of this season, IBK lost national middle blocker Kim Soo-ji (36-Heungkuk Life), who had been their main middle blocker for six seasons. Choi Jung-min, the third overall pick in the first round of the 2020-2021 V-League, has been touted as an alternative to Kim as a middle blocker. As such, she prepared a lot during the off-season training, but it didn’t show in the matches.
IBK’s Choi Jung-min (center) reacts during the first set of the Gumi Dodram Cup 2023 Group B match against Heungkuk Life at Park Jung-hee Gymnasium in Gumi on March 30./Photo: Korea Volleyball Federation
IBK’s Choi Jung-min (third from right, center row) can’t hold back her tears as she poses for a commemorative photo after her team’s victory over Heungkuk Life during their 2023 Gumi Dodram Cup Group B match at Park Jung-hee Gymnasium in Gumi on March 30. Head coach Kim Ho-cheol (second from right, center row) comforted Choi Jung-min. /Photo=Korea Volleyball Federation
“During the off-season, I practiced a lot to synchronize with the setter. I also practiced a lot on timing my blocking,” she said, adding, “It didn’t go well in practice, but it didn’t go as well as I thought in the match, so I was in tears. I think I was thinking too much, so I tried to be as relaxed as possible today,” he explained.
Even after the shutout victory, the coach was pleased to see his young protégé in tears because he wasn’t happy with his play. “Choi Jung-min is the player who will take over after Kim Soo-ji goes out. In his opinion, his play was unfortunate and sad.” “But he is capable of expressing such feelings. I think it’s good because I think it can be an opportunity to play even better,” he smiled.
Choi doesn’t plan to stop there. She has been talking a lot with her partner, Kim Hyun-jung, and is currently focusing on timing her blocking. Knowing that he’s a student who works hard even when he doesn’t have to, coach Kim Ho-cheol is more likely to tell him to play confidently rather than point out something technically.
“There are days like this,” Kim said with a chuckle in the post-match interview, “I thought she was stiff in the first set because of the after-effects of the last match, so I told her to relax and play with confidence. I advised her to play volleyball of her own design rather than following others. I praised her for that in today’s match.”
With Kim Soo-ji in the middle, the center will be a major challenge for IBK this season. But thanks to the ever-improving Choi Jeong-min and Kim Hyun-jung, they have one less thing to worry about. Kim Hyun-jung, who was selected by GS Caltex with the fourth pick in the second round of the 2016-2017 V-League Rookie Draft and has worn the IBK jersey since the 2020-2021 season, is another middle blocker that the bank has been working hard to develop.
“They know that the void left by Kim Soo-ji is an opportunity for them. I think the results of their hard work in practice are showing in the game. But as a coach, I want her to do a little better. I’m satisfied with her performance, but I want her to stand out a little more in the game,” he said.
Choi is aware of his coach’s expectations. “I want to be responsible, but I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself. I’m doing my best to fulfill my role,” he smiles.