Women's Volleyball Head Coach Cha Sang-hyun: "We Acknowledge the Gap with Japan... We Will Defeat Thailand"

After failing to advance to the finals by failing to overcome Japan, women's national volleyball team head coach Cha Sang-hyun gracefully accepted defeat, stating, "We must acknowledge the gap."

Following the 0-3 (20-25, 22-25, 16-25) loss to Japan in the semifinals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Park Arena Komaki in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, today (the 21st), Coach Cha met with reporters and calmly remarked, "Japan played with precision. Although we lost the match, our players did not give up until the end. I want to praise them for that."

The women's national volleyball team played a competitive match in every set against the Japanese women's national team, which has risen to a world-class level.

Although they failed to capture a single set, they maintained a close contest until the late stages of every set.

Refusing to collapse easily and holding on until the end, South Korea ultimately failed to clear the final hurdle and bowed out 0-3.

Coach Cha stated, "Japan served with such intensity that it was impossible to defend. We tried to find a way to counter it, but it is unfortunate. We need to prepare better in the future to narrow the gap. I will think about this deeply."

Regarding the decision to heavily utilize outside hitter Lee Ye-rim (Hyundai Engineering & Construction) starting from the second set today, he explained, "Our serve reception was shaken, and we couldn't find a breakthrough. We brought in Lee Ye-rim, who has strong fundamentals, to try and turn the momentum around, but it fell short of completely overcoming the situation."

Now, the national team will face Thailand, the champions of the 2026 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship, in the bronze medal match tomorrow (the 22nd).

Thailand is also a formidable opponent.

Head coach Cha Sang-hyun vowed, "The schedule for this tournament is very tight. Our players are holding up well, and since tomorrow's match is the last one, we will pour everything into it."

He added, "The opponent's triangular attack line is powerful, and their starting setter is experienced. To disrupt Thailand's set play, we need to target them well with our serves. Somehow, we will figure out a way to beat them and create smooth attacking sequences."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.