Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders' Kim Yeon-koung (37) started her final championship match of her career with a victory.
Heungkuk Life secured a shutout victory with a set score of 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-19) against Jeonggwanjang Red Sparks in the first match of the ‘Dodram 2024-2025 V-League’ championship held on the 31st at the Incheon Samsan World Gymnasium.
Kim Yeon-koung posted 16 points (attack success rate of 60.9%), the highest of the team. Announcing her retirement from active play at the end of this season, Kim Yeon-koung led the crucial first match victory in her final title challenge, taking a step closer to the championship.
In a post-match interview, Kim Yeon-koung said, “I prepared with the intention of showing the fans a victorious performance. It felt great to play and win in front of a packed crowd (5,821). During my break, I focused on body management and prepared step by step, so I am happy that those efforts led to a victory.”
Having rested due to a knee injury late in the season, Kim Yeon-koung noted, “At this point in time, all players have minor injuries. It doesn’t significantly affect my play.”
Kim Yeon-koung, who declared this season her last before retiring, is competing in her final championship title challenge. She remarked, “I don’t place a huge emphasis on it,” adding, “I’m only focused on winning, so it hasn’t quite hit me yet. Many people seem to misunderstand because I’ve had too many 'last dances.' I did the national team ‘last dance’ and had a delayed retirement ceremony. As a result, my retirement has become a frequent topic of discussion, with some asking, ‘Isn’t it over yet?’ I would like to say that it will be over soon. It is really coming to an end, but I don’t attach much meaning to it yet, so it hasn’t hit me.”
After confirming her regular season championship and taking a break, Kim Yeon-koung said, “I wasn’t worried about those aspects more than I expected. In fact, having more time was great. I believe I used that time well. I focused on maintaining my body and prepared for each opponent we need to face in the championship. It was good to have the time to prepare rather than focusing on game sense.”
Regarding Jeonggwanjang, Kim Yeon-koung mentioned, “I did think that it would have been nice to have a few more sets. But I believe going to a third match is good for us. When we reach a third match, I feel it doesn’t matter which team comes up. Last year was really tough for us. Since we prepared well, it will be important for us to finish strong.”
Kim Yeon-koung, who said, “I didn’t feel that the Jeonggwanjang players seemed exhausted,” noted, “Perhaps because there are many young players on Jeonggwanjang, I felt they were still fine. We will prepare well for the things we lacked today and perform well in the second and third matches.” When asked if there is a plan to extend to a fifth match for the fans, she replied, “I’m sorry, but I want to end it in the third match. I don’t think there will be a match after the third match, so I will focus on that.”
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