'Vietnam → China → elimination': Does Korea’s women’s volleyball team remember the nightmare from three years ago? This time, it cannot afford to lose [Nagoya Asian Games]

[Financial News] The nightmare from three years ago is not over yet. Now it is time to settle the score.
South Korea’s women’s national volleyball team, led by coach Sang-Hyun Cha, is taking its first step toward reclaiming a medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Ranked 28th in the world, South Korea will play its first Group D match against Hong Kong, ranked 127th, at 4 p.m. on the 16th at Park Arena Komaki in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
South Korea has a clear advantage on paper. Unless there is a major upset, the match against Hong Kong is likely to serve less as a test of the result and more as an opportunity to assess the players’ condition and teamwork in a competitive setting.
After opening against Hong Kong, South Korea will face Qatar, ranked 107th, at 1 p.m. on the 17th and Vietnam, ranked 32nd, at 4 p.m. on the 18th. Attention is already focused on the final match against Vietnam.
It is effectively a match to decide first place in the group. Since South Korea and Vietnam are both highly likely to get past Hong Kong and Qatar, the result of their head-to-head match will probably determine the final Group D standings.
This is not simply a match to decide first and second place in the group. A quarterfinal matchup is at stake.
According to team officials, the Group D winner will face the Group B runner-up in the quarterfinals, while the Group D runner-up will meet the Group B winner. In Group B, world No. 7 China is the likely winner, with Kazakhstan, ranked 42nd, expected to finish second.

That is why South Korea must beat Vietnam and finish first in Group D. If it drops to second place, it is highly likely to face title favorite China in the quarterfinals. For South Korea, which is aiming to reach the medal rounds, it would be close to the worst possible draw.
Even more ominously, exactly the same thing happened three years ago.
South Korea faced Vietnam in its opening group-stage match at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou. The start was perfect. South Korea took the first and second sets and appeared headed for an easy victory. But that was as far as it went. It then dropped the third, fourth, and fifth sets in succession, suffering a shocking comeback loss. South Korea fell to second place in the group and lost to China in the quarterfinals, ending its medal hopes. It finished fifth overall.
That also ended South Korea’s Asian Games medal streak in women’s volleyball, which had included silver at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, gold at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, and bronze at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games.
For the players who experienced Hangzhou at the time, this match against Vietnam is therefore even more significant. Captain Kang So-hwi of Korea Expressway Corporation vowed, "I will definitely erase the humiliation of Hangzhou."
The atmosphere is different from three years ago. South Korea has faced Vietnam twice this year and won both matches. It swept Vietnam 3-0 in the semifinals of the AVC Nations Cup last June and won 3-1 at the 2026 AVC Women’s Volleyball Continental Championship last month.
South Korea has reason to be confident. Still, Vietnam is not an opponent it can afford to underestimate.
Vietnam is bringing most of the key players who competed at the continental championship to this Asian Games. The roster includes captain Trần Thị Thanh Thúy, the team’s leading scorer at the continental championship; rising ace Phạm Quỳnh Hương; and middle blocker Tran Thi Bich Thuy, who played as an Asian-quota player for GS Caltex in the 2024-2025 V-League season.

Even if South Korea gets past Vietnam, a difficult road awaits. In the women’s volleyball tournament, host Japan, ranked sixth, along with China and Thailand, ranked 13th, are considered strong title contenders.
Thailand’s momentum is particularly formidable. It is sending the same players who won the continental championship last month. Thailand defeated China 3-2 in a full-set battle in the final to claim the title and secure the berth awarded to the champion for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. South Korea also faced Thailand in the quarterfinals of that tournament but suffered a 0-3 sweep. Japan is a difficult opponent as well. But that can wait. The only opponent South Korea needs to focus on now is Vietnam.
Three years ago in Hangzhou, everything unraveled from the moment South Korea collapsed against Vietnam. This time, the team is determined not to repeat the same mistake. South Korea’s Asian Games campaign in women’s volleyball begins with the match against Hong Kong on the 16th, but the national team is already looking ahead to the 18th.
If South Korea beats Vietnam, the door to a medal will open. If it loses, China is highly likely to be waiting at that door again, just as it was three years ago.
[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter