'Can we call it a 'lost but fought well'?' Women's volleyball team suffers shutout loss to Thailand at Asian Games, leaving behind the bitter disappointment of no medals in two consecutive tournaments [Aichi Nagoya AG]

*This content was translated by AI.

'It’s a result where the phrase "lost but fought well" (졌잘싸) doesn't easily come out.' The Korean women's volleyball team bowed their heads after failing to finish in the top three even on the Asian stage.

Under coach Cha Sang-hyun, the Lee Kkeu-neun (CEO)team suffered a 0-3 (20-25, 19-25, 23-25) shutout defeat against Thailand in the women's volleyball bronze medal match at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held on the 22nd at Park Arena Komaki in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Although the Korean women's volleyball team wrote a quarterfinal legend at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, they failed to reach the podium even at the Asian Games. After being completely defeated by Japan 0-3 in the semifinals, they were frustrated for failing to win a single set against Thailand.

At the Hangzhou tournament, Korea finished fifth; while they improved their ranking by one step, it was ultimately an unsatisfactory result.

After Kim Yeon-koung and Yang Hyo-jin retired from the national team following the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the team experienced a sharp decline. Although they prepared for a generational shift by appointing Fernando Morales as coach, they fell into a slump, including suffering 30 consecutive losses in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL).

After coach Cha Sang-hyun took charge in January, Korea prepared for a resurgence. In June, they experienced their first international tournament victory in a long time by winning all seven matches at the AVC (Asian Volleyball Confederation) Cup, boosting their momentum and raising their world ranking to 28th place. However, this tournament confirmed that there is still a long way to go.

They won three consecutive matches in the group stage and shut out Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals, but they were completely powerless against sixth-ranked Japan and 13th-ranked Thailand.

Kang So-hwi scored 10 points and Lee Da-hyun scored 9 points, fighting hard, but unforced errors kept piling up. Despite challenging for a medal for the first time since the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang tournament eight years ago, it turned out to be in vain.

Even when they took an early lead in the first set, questionable officiating immediately shook them and caused their collapse. In the second set, they lost momentum after mid-game due to errors and unforced mistakes, and although they fought tenaciously until the final moments of the third set, they suffered a heartbreaking defeat with a disappointing attack at 23-24.

Having lost to Thailand in the Asian Championships last August, Korea once again failed to compete against Japan and Thailand in this tournament, leaving them with their heads bowed.

While it might be expected to struggle on the global stage due to significant physical differences, the prolonged underperformance even on the Asian stage, where conditions are similar, leaves a deep sense of regret. It is bitter that Korea cannot compete not only with China and Japan, which have the strength to challenge the world's best, but also with Thailand.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.