The captain of Korean Air,안전놀이터 who participated in the 2023 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship as a representative of Korea, is the eldest member of the team, Han Seon-seon (38), along with Yoo Kwang-woo, who was born in 1985.
Han, who was nominated by Korean Air in the 2007-08 rookie draft, is a “one-club man” who played only for Korean Air for 16 seasons until the 2022-23 season. He has been serving as captain for the 8th year since the 2015-16 season when he rejoined the squad after being discharged from the military. Athlete Han has a strong attachment to the position. He once said, “I still have to do it” even when asked, “Isn’t it time to hand over the captaincy to juniors?”
However, limited to this tournament, Kwak Seung-seok performed the captaincy. This is because Han Seon-soo is accompanying the squad to Bahrain, but he is not participating in the game to rehabilitate his knee injury. Kwak Seung-seok, who has been with the team for a long time after Han player, has been entrusted with the captaincy since the 2010-11 season and is the third senior in the team after Han player-Yoo Kwang-woo.
Photo = Courtesy of KOVO
Although he was entrusted with the captaincy, Kwak Seung-seok’s position in this tournament was to spend more time in the warm-up zone than on the court. This is because Korean Air coach Tommy Tillikainen set the goal of participating in this tournament not to win the championship, but to give players who will become the future engine of the team a chance to participate and gain experience. Kwak Seung-seok has played only three positions and has been replaced by outside heaters who are weak in receiving.
Kwak Seung-seok started for the first time in the final game of the tournament, the 7th-8th place match against Bayanghongor of Mongolia. Thanks to the performance of Kwak Seung-seok, who fulfilled his role as a housekeeper with the ability to defend the back of the court comparable to a libero and his receiving skills, which are considered the best in active duty, Korean Air won 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-18) and won this season. Finished the tournament in 7th place.
Kwak Seung-seok, who met with reporters after the game, expressed his feelings of victory, saying, “It is good to be able to win the last game and reap the beauty of the end.”
When Kwak Seung-seok, who served as captain for the first time after his professional debut, was asked about his feelings, he said, “There are many things to pack. I had to look at the team atmosphere, and I had to be in charge of communication between the coaching staff and the players,” he said.
When asked if he had no intention of becoming a real captain rather than a temporary captain with this tournament as an opportunity, he asked back, “(Han) won’t come?” Oh, I thought, ‘Is it going to be Kwak Seung-seok’s system now? Even though he had nothing to do after coming to this tournament, (Han) said, ‘You are still far away’. (Han) will probably continue to serve as captain next season,” he said with a laugh.
The team’s reaction to Dmitri Mushalsky’s interview, “The ‘Korean Air’ we faced that day’ was ranked 9th to 11th in the Japanese league.”
Kwak Seung-seok said, “We didn’t even play against each other with our full strength, but after hearing such an interview, I felt bad because I felt like I was ignoring Korean volleyball.” . He wants to stick again with full power,” he said.
He added, “If we participate in this competition again next year with full power, we will be able to reach the final at least.”
Kwak Seung-seok also praised Lee Joon for taking a lot of playing time instead of himself. He said, “(Lee) Juni is originally a good offensive player. He gained a lot of opportunities and experiences in this tournament, and he must have felt a lot as he played the game. He left compliments and advice, saying, “If he complements them in upcoming training, he will be able to become a better player.”