In the women’s division, all seven teams nominated players. Now it’s the men’s turn.
The 2023 Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) Men’s Asian Quarter Tryout will be held from the 25th to the 27th at Halla Gymnasium and Sun Hotel in Jeju Island. Unlike the non-face-to-face women’s team, the face-to-face men’s tryout consisted of a three-day medical check and physical examination, a total of three practice matches, and an interview with the manager and players, and the final draft was held at the Jeju Sun Hotel on the 27th. is going to be
Concerns about the Asia Quarter, which will be implemented for the first time, were so great that the possibility of some clubs not being nominated was carefully predicted, but the women’s draft, which took place earlier on the 21st, was lively with all teams nominating players. As interest and expectations for the men’s tryout are growing, three points to watch are summarized.
① A large number of Indonesian players and only one Thai player
First of all, we need to look at the players who received a lot of attention but decided not to attend the tryout. There were a total of 32 players on the previously released list of men’s Asia Quarter Tryout applications, but 8 of them were excluded from the final list of participants.
Of the eight players excluded, as many as five are Indonesian players, and all of them notified of their absence from the tryout due to the schedule of the national team preparing for the Southeast Asian Games (SEA GAME). Among these five players, Donny Hariono (OH) and Livan Nurukulki (OP), who received a lot of attention when the roster was released, are also included. Teams who had them in mind are inevitable to revise their plans.
Unlike the women’s team, where a large number of Thai players applied and three were selected, only one Thai player applied for the men’s team’s tryout. This is Apogee Amonthep Conhan, born in 1995. Conhan, who played an active role as an apogee in the 2022 AVC Cup match where Korea lost to Thailand, is a player with excellent elasticity and agility despite his small stature of 188 cm. Coach Park Ki-won, who is currently coaching the Thai national team, also said of Conhan, “He is a player with good skills. He knows how to adjust the timing of attacks and has a good sense of volleyball. He also has his passionate personality.” However, coach Park also came up with a cold evaluation, saying, “Thailand is not strong enough to defeat a top Asian team by using Conhan as an apogee.” Attention is focusing on whether Conhan will be nominated in the final draft and continue the ‘Thailand boom’ in the men’s division.
② Will Bayarsaihan·Eddie, who is free from adaptation problems, work at the pro level?
In the case of the Asian Quarter Tryout for the women’s division, it was safe to say that the team that wins the 1st place nomination has virtually determined the player to be nominated. Thailand’s national team’s main setter, Phonpun Gedpard, was the main character. Ponpun, who was one step above the other participants in both experience and skill, became the biggest topic at the same time as the tryout list was released, and was actually nominated by IBK Industrial Bank, which won the first nomination.
In the men’s tryout list, there is no player who is guaranteed to be ranked first like Phonpun in the women’s team. However, there are players with high preference. Mongolian middle blockers Bayarsaihan and Eddie are typical examples. Both players are very familiar names to fans who enjoy U-League. Bayar Saihan is a key resource for Inha University and Eddy is Sungkyunkwan University. As he is already familiar with life in Korea and volleyball, his strength is that he is free from the problem of adaptation, which is one of the risks for foreign players.
The physical is also compliant. Bayarsaihan is 197 cm tall and Eddy is 198 cm tall, which is a height that can be passed even in the pros. Both players also had the strength of being able to double as an apogee. However, the key is whether both players will be able to show their U-League appearances on the pro stage as well. Shin Ho-jin, who was a representative of the U-League during his college days, suffered ups and downs in the V-League until the middle of the season, while Kim Jun-woo, who kept the center of Hongik University, made a soft landing in the league from the start and won the rookie award. Which player will Bayar Saihan and Eddy be closer to?
③ Eye-catching players from Panasonic Duo to 203cm MB
Besides Eddie and Bayarsaihan, there are other players that many volleyball players pay attention to. Representative examples are Ryohei Iga (L) and Issey Otake (OP), who play for Panasonic Pansus in the Japanese V.League. Iga is a key libero who kept Panasonic’s rear strong until the previous season, and has a stable receiving ability. It is known that the Japanese league’s main player is on the lookout for teams aiming to reinforce the libero while attracting attention in that they challenge the V-League. 먹튀검증
Ohtake, who belongs to Panasonic along with Iga, is a player who competed as a member of the Japanese national team in the 2022 Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Cup and played against Korea. Otake, who was also selected as the best apogee of the competition, has a strong body of 202cm. It is a definite advantage in the V-League, where there are not many blockers over 2m. However, it is regrettable that he is not a very good player with the ability to save RBIs compared to his height. Nevertheless, it is a resource to watch with interest for teams in need of apositive reinforcement.
In addition, Mark Espeho (OH, Philippines), who played an active part in the Japanese league in the 2018-2019 season and 2021-2022 season, and Cai Fei-chang (MB, Taiwan), the tallest among the tryout participants at 203 cm, are also notable resources. Among them, who will become the first foreign player from the Asian Quarter to enter the V-League? On the 27th, the fate of many teams and players will be decided at the Sun Hotel in Jeju Island.