*This content was translated by AI.
"I thought I'd quit volleyball tomorrow."
Desperation worked. Korean national team Libero Jang Ji-won (25, KEPCO) successfully played his first starting match after being discharged from the military.
KEPCO beat Woori Card with a set score of 3-1 (26-24, 31-33, 25-23, 25-17) in the fifth round of the regular league of Jin Air 2025-2026 V-League at Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul on the 2nd.
As a result, Korea Electric Power Corp., which earned three points, trailed second-place Korean Air (16-8 with 47 points) by four points with 15 wins and 11 losses (43 points).
Ahead of the match, Korea Electric Power Corp. is on alert. Chung Min-soo (35) of the main Libero team will miss the match against Hyundai Capital due to a finger injury in the previous game. In October last year, Jang Ji-won, who had occasionally been replaced after being discharged from the military athletic unit (Sangju), took on the heavy responsibility.
However, the coach's faith was strong. Before the game, KEPCO coach Kwon Young-min said, "I'm just worried about going into the starting for the first time in a long time, but I'm not worried about my skills. Even compared to (Jeong) Min-soo, I don't think he's lagging behind in his skills," he said.
Expectations hit the mark. Even in his first start of the season, Jang Ji-won firmly stood behind KEPCO with a receiving efficiency of 40 percent.
Coach Kwon Young-min said after the game, "(Jang Ji-won) wants to give 80 points (out of 100 points). I wasn't as good as I was. I think I was nervous because I wanted to go in and do well after a long time. But I got a few and I think I did a good job just keeping my seat."
The player himself scored worse than him. Jang Ji-won said, "I think it's 50. Because I could have done better. I was very nervous because it was my first start in two years. "I gave him 50 points because the reception was shaky and the connection was disappointing personally," he pointed out with a cool head.
However, from the third set, the defense that was in full swing came out little by little. In response, Jang Ji-won said, "I made up my mind comfortably with the thought of quitting volleyball tomorrow. I changed my mind and made myself comfortable because I tend to make more mistakes when I think I should do better."
Both the head coach and the player were worried about adapting to the real game due to environmental factors. The V League uses the same Mikasa Ball as a tool for the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) tournament from the 2023-2024 season, but Sangmu still uses the star ball.
Jang Ji-won said, "It is true that the ball was a star ball in commerce, so it was inconvenient in terms of sensibility. But I did a lot of individual sports in the evening, and I was lucky to be selected as a member of the national team, so I could learn a lot by training well," he recalled.
As Jung Min-soo's injury is not big and Jang Ji-won still needs to adapt, Jang Ji-won is likely to finish the season as a backup this season. However, he dreams of a future where he will one day become a main player.
Jang Ji-won said, "I think I've adjusted to the position because I've only had three rear positions at Korea Electric Power Corporation," but predicted long, "There will be a day when I'll be the main one beyond Min-soo."
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*This content was translated by AI.
