"The Hangzhou Humiliation Has Been Completely Erased!" Women's Volleyball Sweeps Kazakhstan... Korea-Japan Semifinal Set After 8 Years [Nagoya AG]

[Financial News] South Korean women's volleyball has made a spectacular comeback after overcoming the painful humiliation of the previous tournament. The women's national team, led by head coach Sang-Hyun Cha and ranked No. 28 in the world, defeated formidable Kazakhstan, ranked No. 42, to reach the Asian Games semifinals for the first time in eight years.
The team swept Kazakhstan 3-0 (26-24, 27-25, 25-21) in the women's quarterfinals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Komaki City Sports Park General Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on the 20th. South Korea thus achieved the valuable feat of reaching the Asian Games semifinals for the first time in eight years, since the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, where it won a bronze medal. The team also completely erased the disappointment of failing to reach the semifinals and finishing fifth at the Hangzhou Asian Games, held in 2023.
Although the result was a straight-set victory, every moment of the match was on a razor's edge. The first and second sets, in particular, featured grueling deuce battles. South Korea led 23-22 late in the first set but conceded consecutive points to face set point at 23-24. At that critical moment, Kim Dain of Hyundai Engineering and Construction turned the tide with back-to-back blocks, putting South Korea ahead 25-24. After a dig by Yuk Seo-young of Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), Kang So-hwi of Korea Expressway Corporation delivered a golden kill to give South Korea the opening set, 26-24.
The second set was another dramatic comeback. After leading 24-23, South Korea again conceded consecutive points and fell behind 24-25. This time, Yuk Seo-young stepped up as the finisher. She calmly drilled an equalizing spike before immediately firing an incisive service ace to put South Korea back in front, 26-25. Kazakhstan, its momentum broken, committed an attacking error, allowing South Korea to take the second set 27-25.
After winning two hard-fought sets in succession, South Korea maintained its focus at the decisive point of the third set and closed out the match. With a narrow 21-20 lead, Kang So-hwi and Yuk Seo-young scored consecutive points to strengthen South Korea's advantage. At 24-21 match point, Eun-Seo Park of Soop put the finishing touch on the victory with a thrilling block.


The top contributor to the victory was Yuk Seo-young, who scored a match-high 20 points, the most by either team. Middle blocker Ho-Young Jung of Incheon Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders added 10 points, while Lee Da-hyeon of NEC Red Rockets contributed nine, showcasing South Korea's solid control at the net. The match highlighted the resilience of the Korean players, who maintained unwavering focus despite poor local training conditions.
With morale soaring after reaching the semifinals for the first time in eight years, South Korea will face host Japan, ranked No. 6, on the 21st at 7:20 p.m. for a place in the final. Japan advanced with a 3-0 victory over Taiwan, ranked No. 37, setting up a decisive Korea-Japan showdown. 


[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter