Bangkok, Thailand, August 4, 2021 – Super star Kim Yeon Koung scored a match-high 28 points to steer Korea to an epic tiebreak win against Turkey and semifinals of the Tokyo 2020 volleyball tournament at Ariake Arena in Japan on Wednesday.
The 192cm Kim, who performed brilliantly to lead Korea to a well-earned 4th place in the 2012 London Olympic Games, where she captured MVP and Best Scorer Awards, became a dominant force of Korea to be reckoned with as she came up with a brilliant all-round performance to help the world No.13 pull off a comeback 3-2 (17-25, 25-17, 28-26, 18-25, 15-13) win against Turkey, smashing the European giants’ sweet dreams of advancing to the semifinals of the Olympic Games for the first time in history.
Against the strong Turkey, Korea fielded a formidable lineup which surprised reigning consecutive two-time Asian champions Japan 3-2 in their preliminary Pool A clash earlier. They included Kim Yeon Koung, 33, Park Jeongah, Kim Heejin and Yang Hyo Jin, while world No.4 Turkey, bronze medallists at this year’s FIVB Volleyball Nations League in Rimini, Italy, were also strong offensively with the well-established lineup spearheaded by three powerful hitters Meryem Boz, Eda Erdem Dundar and Zehra Gunes.
In the first set, Korea made a poor start, while Boz and Erdem led Turkey with their aggressive attacks and blocks for the initial 10-7 lead. However, the Koreans regrouped and hit back with spectacular spikes form Kim Yeon Koung and Park Jeongah, but their efforts did not pay off well as Turkey had enough to hold them off to win the comfortable set 25-17.
One set down, Korea put their acts together and started to produce the goods, with Kim overpowering the blockers with her powerful attacks to help her team lead with 8-point clear at 23-15. The 196cm-tall Ebrar Karakurt came to the Turkey’s aid with her dazzling cross-court attacks to narrow the margin 17-24, but her help came a little bit too late as shortly after that, the Koreans ran away with the set win 25-17.
Both teams were still locked in a very tight contest in the third set. Korea gained an upper hand to take a 3-point lead at 13-10, but the Turkish side responded well and found themselves 17-16 in front. As Boz’s exceptional attacks and Erdem’s blocking ability proved a thorn in the Korean defence, Turkey moved ahead 24-22, needing only one more point to wrap up the hotly-contested set.
It did not look good for the Koreans, but they proved one of the spirited teams that will never say die and they bounced back mightily. Leads changed hand for a few moments before Park Jeongah and Kim Heejin combined well to get defensive at work. Korea took the hard-fought set 28-26 for a commanding 2-1 lead.
Turkey came up in full strength in the fourth set, aiming to make amends for the loss in the third set. With Erdem carrying out fantastic slide attacks and Boz providing power at the net, Turkey grabbed the set 25-18, forcing the tiebreak with the Koreans.
Korea and Turkey still locked horns in the decider, but the former fared better offensively and defensively. Inspired by the victory, Korea showcased their resilience, with Kim Yeon Koung brilliantly orchestrating the team’s offence whenever she was in play and shaking the opponents’ defence with her thundering attacks. Korea won some crucial points to commandingly lead 14-10. Turkey fought back hard to win 3 points in a row to reduce the gap 14-13 before a sharp spike from Kim went unanswered to hand Korea the 15-13 win in the deciding set and match.
Korea advanced to the semifinals of the Tokyo 2020, the second team since Kim Yeon Koung has firstly joined the Korea’s Olympic squad in the 2012 Olympic Games. They are due to next take on the winners between the Brazil and Russia, which are due to play in later quarterfinal match.
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