Veteran blocker Han Song-yi isn't finished yet

Veteran middle blocker Han Song-yi has vowed to continue training through the long summer vacation, with her eyes set on one goal only: Leading Daejeon KGC to the playoffs next season.

Han Song-yi [KOREA VOLLEYBALL FEDERATION]

Veteran middle blocker Han Song-yi has vowed to continue training through the long summer vacation, with her eyes set on one goal only: Leading Daejeon KGC to the playoffs next season.

Han is the younger sister of volleyball legend Han Yoo-mi, a former national team player that was a key part of the glory days of the Korean squad, finishing second at the 2010 Asian Games and fourth at the 2012 London Olympics.

While Han Yoo-mi retired in 2018 and is now part of the national team coaching staff, her younger sister Han Song-yi is still as active as ever and is determined to carry KGC to the playoffs next season after five years of misery.

KGC finished last season in fourth place, narrowly missing a chance to land in the playoffs, where the runners-up and third-place team face off to take on the league winners in the championship.

“I never had a vacation plan since I was thinking about the postseason,” Han said during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo at Daejeon Sports Center in Daejeon in July. “I even thought to myself, ‘what do I need to do?’ I watched all the postseason games [last season] and it made me feel sad and motivated me to think that our team needs to work harder to get there.”

The upcoming 2023-24 season will be the 38-year-old’s 20th in the V League, where she looks to continue her momentum from last season.

She proved that age is just a number during the 2022-23 season, playing all 36 league games despite being the oldest member of the KGC squad.

“I’ve been working out during the off-season, but I haven’t done much training with a ball,” Han said. “I’ve been trying to elevate my form to the best level and the head coach and assistant coach are helping me.”

Han originally played as an outside hitter at the beginning of her career, but changed to middle blocker after hitting her mid-30s in order to maximize her blocking skills — although she played in both positions last season.

Daejeon KGC's Hang Song-yi attacks during a V League game against GS Caltex Seoul KIXX at Jangchung Arena in Jung District, central Seoul on Nov. 15, 2022. [NEWS1]

KGC head coach Ko Hee-jin was the one to suggest Han change her position to middle blocker, even though she was not the best at receiving.

Ko told her that she can handle the position well as long as she can still score through blocking or attacks. That predication came true as she was good at both blocking and receiving.

Han will continue to play as middle blocker next season, but she and her teammates may have more work to do, as ace Lee So-young is not able to play until the second half of the season due to injury.

“So-young’s role in defense was big as well as in attack,” Han said. “The void left by Lee cannot be filled by one person, but by everyone altogether.”

KGC were four points behind third-place Gimcheon Korea Expressway Hi-Pass last season. If they had finished with one more point, they would have played the so-called semi-playoff against Hi-Pass.

The semi-playoff takes place when the gap between the third and fourth-place team is three points or less.

“The players had hoped to reach the postseason and that was our motivation going into the season,” Han said. “It was so disappointing and I could only say I felt empty.”

The 2023-24 season begins in October, but the players will be back in action at the KOVO Cup — running from July 29 through Aug. 5 — where all seven V League teams — this year with the addition of one invitee team from overseas for the first time since 2018 — participate to test out their squad ahead of the new campaign.

KGC will play Hi-Pass, Gwangju AI Peppers and Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate in Group A.

BY KIM HYO-KYUNG [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]