adminThe first opponent of the Korean women’s volleyball team, led by coach Cesar Hernández, in the 2024 Paris Olympics qualifiers is Italy. Italy is also in a chaotic situation as key members have recently been excluded from the list. Wariness toward Korea was also revealed.
Korea and Italy will play their first match in Group C of the Olympic qualifiers in Łódź, Poland in the early morning of the 17th (Korean time). Korea, ranked 36th in the world rankings of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), and Italy, ranked 5th, will clash.
A total of 24 teams will be divided into three groups and compete. Games will be held simultaneously in Poland, China, and Japan. Starting with the match against Italy, Korea will then face Poland, Germany, the United States, Colombia, Thailand, and Slovenia. The two teams from each group will receive tickets to the Paris Olympics finals.
Group C is classified as the Group of Death. Italy, as well as the United States, ranked 3rd in the FIVB rankings, and Poland, ranked 7th, are expected to compete fiercely for two tickets.
Among these, Italy left a deep disappointment by finishing in fourth place in the recent European Championships. Criticism is also growing stronger over the recent actions of ‘defending champion’ Italy.
Many key members also left out. In addition to Apogit Paola Egono, injured setter Alessia Oro, veteran libero Monica de Gennaro, middle blocker Cristina Chirichella, and outside hitter Caterina Bosetti were not included in the 14-man list. Middle blocker Sarah Pach, who was on the operating table in 2021 due to a ruptured cruciate ligament in her right knee, seemed to return to the national team, but even this fell through.메이저사이트
Italian media ‘OA Sports’ also commented on the Italian national team’s Olympic qualifier roster, saying, “There are many players excluded from this national team due to technical decisions, injuries, internal rifts, etc. “Even if we gather only the players missing from the list, we will have the best team combination,” he pointed out.
Nevertheless, Italy built a team centered on veteran outside hitter Miriam Sylla. Outside hitters Elena Pietri, Alice Degradi, and Francesca Villani, setters Francesca Bosio and Giulia Gennari, and middle blockers Marina Rubian, Anna Danesi, Federica Squarcini, and Linda Nwakalo were selected. Apogits included Silvia Nwakalo and Ekaterina Antropova. Liberos Eleonora Persino and Beatrice Parisi also headed to Łódź, Poland.
Italy’s ‘Gazzetta’ said ahead of the Korean game, “We need to put the frustration at the European Championships and the controversy over the national team behind us and focus on the Olympic qualifiers again. “We have a clear goal of participating in the 2024 Paris Olympics,” he said. “Korea is a team that is inferior to Italy in terms of technology, but they are an opponent that cannot be underestimated. This is the team that achieved 4th place at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Of course, we ranked 16th in the VNL.”
The Korean national team left for Łódź, Poland on the 14th. Following this year’s VNL and Asian Championships, Olympic qualifiers and the Hangzhou Asian Games are scheduled. This is Cesar, who has shown an endless decline since the Tokyo Olympics. Attention is focused on what kind of performance they will show in the Olympic qualifiers.