▲ South Korea's Huh Su-bong spikes the ball during the men's volleyball quarterfinals match between South Korea and Iran at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Okazaki Central Park General Gymnasium in Japan on October 1.
The South Korean men's volleyball national team (world No. 25) failed to advance to the Asian Games semifinals after a narrow defeat against the 2022 Hangzhou tournament champion Iran (No. 19).
Led by head coach Isanaye Ramirez, the national team lost 2-3 (23-25, 25-18, 25-21, 20-25, 12-15) in a full-set thriller against Iran in the quarterfinals of the tournament held at the Okazaki Central Park General Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on October 1.
As a result, South Korea has dropped to the classification matches.
The national team successfully won medals without a single exception from the 1966 Bangkok tournament to the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang tournament, but finished 7th at the 2022 Hangzhou tournament and will return home empty-handed from this competition as well.
Though the outcome was disappointing, the performance itself was not bad.
South Korea went toe-to-toe against defending champion Iran.
They dropped the first set 23-25 after a tight battle, but overwhelmed Iran in the second set based on well-coordinated teamwork.
In particular, the twin cannons Huh Su-bong (Hyundai Capital) and Lim Dong-hyuk (Korean Air) combined for 9 points in the second set alone to break through Iran's height advantage.
Having tied the set score at 1-1, South Korea claimed the third set to successfully turn the match around.
Their diverse offense stood out.
At 19-17, Lim Dong-hyuk successfully executed a stable open attack, and at 20-18, Lee Sang-hyun scored with a quick middle attack that caught the opponent off guard.
On the other hand, Iran showed a stark contrast by committing consecutive unforced errors.
▲ South Korean players celebrate after scoring a point during the men's volleyball quarterfinals match between South Korea and Iran at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Okazaki Central Park General Gymnasium in Japan on October 1.
However, stamina was the problem.
South Korea had to play this match with one fewer player as Lim Sung-jin (Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps) was sidelined due to an ankle injury, and they failed to smoothly distribute the stamina of their attackers, running out of gas late in the game.
Having dropped the fourth set 20-25, South Korea wrapped up the match by losing the final fifth set 12-15.
The offense heavily relied on two players, with Huh Su-bong recording a match-high 22 points and Lim Dong-hyuk recording the second-most with 18 points.
▲ Head coach Isanaye Ramirez of the South Korean national team gives tactical instructions during the men's volleyball quarterfinals match between South Korea and Iran at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Okazaki Central Park General Gymnasium in Japan on October 1.
Although South Korea failed to secure a medal in this tournament, they discovered hope for reclaiming the summit of Asian volleyball.
The national team also played a full-set thriller against China, the runner-up of the Hangzhou tournament, during the group stage.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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