Director Kwon Young-min’s face was full of satisfaction. Because he got the Ryohei Iga he coveted over and over again.
The 2023 Korean Volleyball Federation (KOVO) Men’s Asian Quarter Draft was held at the Jeju Sun Hotel on the 27th. KEPCO coach Kwon Young-min, who received the second-place nomination right after Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance as a result of the bead lottery, nominated Ryohei Iga (Japan) as the libero without hesitation. Director Kwon, who had been positively evaluating Iga for the past two days, succeeded in embracing him and had a satisfying day.
Director Kwon, who visited the interview room, said, “It felt really good to be ranked second. Korean Air’s 3rd place wasn’t bad either, but I hoped it would come out ahead of Korean Air (which I was aiming for). It was good that Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, who seemed unlikely to pick a libero, came in second after the first,” he said honestly.
When asked how he ranked his preference, director Kwon said, “I kept thinking about Bayar Saihan and Iga. As a result of contemplation, the final decision was made to go to Iga based on the judgment that our team’s middle blocker base is not bad and that the situation requires reinforcement of the libero.” Regarding the moment when he exercised the second place nomination, Director Kwon said, “I was a little worried until the end because Bayarsaihan remained, but I still decided to go with my previous thoughts.”
In the end, I wanted to hear a little more about the background of choosing Iga. Manager Kwon said, “The skills are good, and the liberos in our team are young, so there are some ups and downs, but I think Iga, who has experience, can help. Currently, I am thinking of renewing the contract with Tais Dulle Host (registered name Tais), but I thought he was a player who could ease the burden of Tais receiving. The appearance I saw for two days was also positive.”ㅋㅋㅋ벳
However, coach Kwon made it clear that Lee Ga was not guaranteed a starting position. “Everybody has to compete. Jang Ji-won, Lee Ji-seok, and Lee all compete in good faith, and if there is something to learn from each other, they should learn it.”
On set, Lee Ga’s warm appearance was also a minor topic. Director Kwon asked, “Is that so?” and smiled. “I hope that I can become popular in Korea by playing volleyball well. Earlier, I asked Lee Ga how long she wanted to stay in Korea, and she said she wanted to stay for a long time. I hope so too”, revealing his expectations f