Ahead of the opening match of the 2023-2024 men’s professional volleyball season, the captains of Korean Air and Hyundai Capital, who met in last season’s championship match, have spoken of their intentions .Korean Air head coach Tommi Tilikainen said before the match against Hyundai Capital at Gyeyang Gymnasium in Incheon on Thursday, “We’ve really prepared hard for today. Not only me, but all the players are excited,” he said. Korean Air, which won its third consecutive overall title last season, will attempt to become the first men’s team to win four straight overall titles this season.
Coach Tilikainen has a habit of saying ‘history’ as well. “We are firm on the goal of making history. What’s important is the direction of how to get there,” he said, adding that the team will not only aim to win, but also keep in mind how to win. The team’s main man, Jeong Ji-suk, will not play in the opening match due to back pain. “You have to be careful with back problems,” said Tilikainen. We don’t include him in the roster at all,” he said. “We check his situation every week, and honestly, I’m not an expert, so it’s hard to say when he’ll be back, but our team is thick, so we’ll be able to fill the gap to some extent. “Hyundai Capital is determined to end Korean Air’s dominance.
Hyundai Capital head coach Choi Tae-woong was the only one to predict that Korean Air wouldn’t make it to the championship at the men’s media day on Nov. 11.”OK Financial Group will beat Korean Air in the championship and meet us, who finished first in the regular season,” Choi taunted. On the same day, Choi said, “That’s the best scenario for our team. We want to beat a team that has a goal (of winning four consecutive titles), and we’ll have fun and not give up until the end.”
Hyundai Capital will be without star setter Kim Myung-kwan for the opening match due to an ankle injury Choi said, “We’ve only been training together for about a week. It’s true that our hands and feet are a little out of sync,” Choi said, adding, “We are trying to reduce the tension of the first match as much as possible.” Jeon Kwang-in is also not feeling well. “His jump is not perfect due to his injury,” Choi said. Instead, I want him to be the 스포츠토토 center of the defense.”
