A tryout and draft event to select players in the Asian quarter of the 2024-2025 season of professional volleyball was completed in Jeju last week. At the second event following last year, Woori Card, the top draft pick in the Asian quarter through a lottery, nominated outside heater Ali Hagparast (Iran). Pepper Savings Bank, the youngest player in women’s volleyball, selected middle blocker Zhang Yu of China to fill the gap.
Ratings for the first season of the Asian quarter are generally positive. Analysts say that due to the player’s low base, the team has created a channel to strengthen its power at a low price in the V-League, where player movement is small, due to the player’s increased ransom. In particular, success stories have been reported in women’s volleyball, including Megawatty Puttywi (Indonesia), who led Jeonggwanjang to “Spring Volleyball” for the first time in seven years, Wipawi Sitton (Thailand), who contributed to Hyundai Engineering & Construction’s integrated victory, and Ponpun Gedfard (Thailand), who filled the setter gap well at IBK Industrial Bank. In men’s volleyball, Ryohay Iga (Japan) of Korea Electric Power Corporation and Bayar Sai (Mongol), middle blocker of OK Financial Group, were recognized for their skills. In addition, women’s volleyball raised the annual salary of players selected for the tryout to 120,000 dollars in the first year and 150,000 dollars in the second year. The men’s team slightly increased its second year to 120,000 dollars while maintaining its first year annual salary of 100,000 dollars.
In the second Asian quarter tryout, expectations and concerns intersect. The number of countries eligible for the Asian quarter increased significantly from 10 to 64 this time, including four East Asian countries (Japan, Mongolia, Taiwan and Hong Kong) and six Southeast Asian countries (Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Myanmar). China, a volleyball powerhouse, entered the women’s team. There were also changes in the trend of selecting players in the men’s team, as players from Iran and Australia, who are familiar with foreign players, were included.
The designated players have different physical conditions. They are taller than 1m95, including Zhang Yu, the first female volleyball player, middle blocker Hwang Ruili-rey of China, and outside heater Stefanie Weiler of Germany-Germany, who was picked by GS Caltex as the seventh. Outside heater Unieska Robles Batista of 1m89 selected by Korea Expressway Corporation as the third-ranked player has experience representing Kazakhstan, but he is actually from Cuba.
The situation is not much different for men’s volleyball. Iran was strong. As five high-ranking candidates from Iran, including Sayed Mohammad Mousavi, were absent, some complained that they could not find a good candidate. However, Iran’s wing striker was named the most (three) in the draft. Two Chinese players followed, and one each from Australia and Japan.
It feels like a foreign player option is being added to the list. Southeast Asian players did not receive much attention. The Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) also expected to sell broadcasting rights overseas to the Southeast Asian market, while recruiting top Asian players with less annual salary than Korean players through the introduction of the Asian quarter system. However, as Southeast Asian players were shunned, its goal became overshadowed. Only Mega and Wi-Fi, who renewed their contracts, are the Southeast Asian players in this try-out. “Given that the V-League has enjoyed mega-effects, I felt the need to actively utilize the Southeast Asian market,” a team official said. “If so, we need to make a difference in selecting players from the Asian quarter.” However, there is strong opposition to calls for selecting more Asian quarter players, which would undermine the position of Korean players.
There is still a view that free starters are needed for the Asian quarter and foreign players who are currently playing in tryouts. “Players are not as good as the money that KOVO spends for the event and the effort that each club puts into it. Moreover, under the current tryout system, it is not easy to properly grasp the players’ skills and select them,” he said, stressing the need for change.
BY: 토토사이트 순위