Through’s season is over… Han Sung-jung runs for both ‘us’

“For our team, and for the ‘us’ that’s about to be born.”

The 2023-2024 season for the men’s professional volleyball team Woori Card was a season of deep disappointment. The team dominated from the start, winning the regular season title and their first-ever championship. However, they lost the top spot to Korean Air by one point, and in spring volleyball, they lost to OK Financial Group in the playoffs.

For outside hitter Han Sung-jeong, Woori Card’s breadwinner in the ‘Yongdu Sami’ season, it’s a disappointment that only gets worse the more you think about it. “I hope there will be more places like this,” he said while wiping his sweat after a fun volleyball class during the club’s ‘Spike Your Dream Season 2’ campaign, and then smiled bittersweetly with mixed emotions when 안전한 파워볼사이트 talking about last season.

Last season, after a flurry of trades, he returned to the organization that made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017-2018 draft, and put up career-high numbers on both offense and defense (254 points in 31 games and 116 sets, including a 52.07 offensive success rate and 37.75 receiving efficiency). “Sports is a world where you only remember the first place, and it’s a shame,” he admitted.

“I was actually involved in three of Korean Air’s four consecutive losses,” he said, adding a personal story. In the 2020-2021 championship, the start of Korean Air’s dynasty, Han Sung-jung was on the other side of the court with Woori Card, finishing as runner-up. In the 2021-2022 season, she was traded to KB Insurance, where she and her teammate Keita Noumori challenged Korean Air for the title, but fell just short. While they weren’t championship foes, Woori Card battled Korean Air for the lead throughout last season. If Woori Card had won the title, the scenario might have been different.

That’s why the team is eagerly anticipating the 2024-2025 season. The prospect of a fresh start with Mauricio Paz, the club’s first foreign coach, is also a big motivator.

“We’re training in a system that I didn’t learn in Korea,” Han said. It was fun at first, but the more I got used to it, the harder it was. It’s a high-intensity training that requires you to use your head and your body,” she laughed.

He has even more reason to do well. “I’m eligible for free agency for the second time after this season, and I’m having a baby boy in November, so it’s going to be a big season with a lot more responsibility,” he said. I’m having a baby boy in November, so it’s going to be a big season with a lot more responsibility,” he said.

“I felt like I was coming back to the Card after a low point,” he said. “I came here, got married, had a baby. I came here, got married, and had a baby. It was a big turning point in many ways,” he explains, “so I named him with the meaning of our team, our family, etc.”

The goal became simple. “We just have to look at ourselves,” he says. “We’re going to do our best for the team in the new season and for our new baby,” he said, adding, “There’s going to be a lot of competition for positions, but we’re going to rebound and try to win the team title.