"I felt so great."
The voice of Kim Yeon-koung coming through the phone was filled with joy.
In an interview with SBS held today, Kim shared her thoughts on the impressive performances of the South Korean under-17 women's national volleyball team at the world championships.
Led by head coach Lee Seung-yeo, the U-17 women's national volleyball team has surprised everyone by securing four consecutive wins in the group stage at the U-17 World Championship taking place in Chile.
After comfortably defeating Puerto Rico 3-1 in their opening match, the national team overcame Taiwan 3-1 in their second match, and then went on to beat European powerhouse Italy 3-1 in their third match to claim their third straight victory. Following a 3-1 win against the Dominican Republic in their fourth preliminary match held early this morning, they secured a spot in the round of 16 with one match remaining.
Kim said, "I've been checking the match results and continuously keeping an eye on how the players are doing. Seeing young players perform so well on the international stage made me feel wonderful in the first place."
She added, "It makes me look forward to the future even more. I hope they will continue to show even more growth based on this world championship."
The U-17 women's national volleyball team first drew attention from the volleyball community last year by winning the U-16 Asian Championship for the first time in 45 years.
In particular, team captain and key scorer Son Seo-yeon earned the nickname "Little Kim Yeon-koung" after sweeping the scoring title and MVP award at the Asian Championship.
Kim Yeon-koung also did not stand idly by.
Upon Son's return after conquering the Asian Championship, Kim encouraged her by providing youth scholarship funds through her foundation.
In addition to Son Seo-yeon, Moon Ti-ara and Jang Su-in from the current national team also received scholarships from the Kim Yeon-koung Foundation.
Kim did not hold back her praise, stating, "It itself is truly rewarding and feels great to see scholarship recipients performing so well. Son Seo-yeon, Moon Ti-ara, and Jang Su-in all have their own distinct strengths as players."
Kim, who dominated the global stage by writing semifinal fairy tales at the 2012 London Olympics and the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, also passed on her own know-how.
"Technical aspects such as offense and defense are important. However, on the international stage, how much you can trust and execute your own play ultimately matters a great deal,"
she advised. "I think the players are showing great performances both as a team and individually in that regard. I hope they keep loving and enjoying volleyball just as they do now."
After receiving the inaugural Achievement Award from the Asian Volleyball Confederation on August 9, Kim stated, "I will do my absolute best for the next generation of junior players."
When asked about concrete plans to achieve this, she gave a clear answer.
She stated, "I believe my role is to gradually share the experiences I hold and what I can do with the next generation. Through KYK Foundation activities just like now, I will continue to provide youth scholarship support and intend to keep creating environments where young players can gain experience and grow through youth clinics and tournaments."
South Korean women's volleyball has been on an endless downward spiral following Kim Yeon-koung's retirement.
However, evaluations suggest that a glimmer of hope is slowly coming into sight thanks to the strong performance of the current U-17 national team.
Kim shared the same sentiment.
She said, "If we gradually build environments where young players can grow well, outstanding players will eventually emerge again. Then, I think they will be able to show strong performances on the international stage as well. I will continue to cheer them on."
Our national team will play their final group preliminary match against Algeria at 3:00 AM tomorrow.
Starting from the 13th, they will dive into the tournament phase beginning with the round of 16.
The vibrant and cheerful performances of our national team can be watched on the ENA sports channel and online via SOOP.
(Photo: Courtesy of KBSN, captured from Asian Volleyball Confederation Facebook and International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) website, Yonhap News)
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