V-League enters its 20th season, Asian quarter to watch

The 2023-2024 V-League will open on the 14th and begin a six-month journey. The men's game will be the Korean Air-Hyundai Capital match held at Gyeyang Gymnasium in Incheon at 2 p.m., and the women's match will be the Korea Expressway Corporation-Heungkuk Life Insurance match held at the Gimcheon Indoor Gymnasium at 4 p.m. The V-League was launched in 2005, and this season marks its 20th season. However, due to the poor performance of the men's and women's national teams at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, the new season started with an atmosphere unlike before. However, there are various points of interest that will raise the expectations of volleyball fans, such as Korean Air's men's team's attempt to win the V-League's first four consecutive championships. In particular, the biggest difference this season from previous years is the introduction of the Asian quota. So far, each V-League club has played with about 15 domestic players and one foreign player. However, starting this season, the Asian quota was introduced, making it possible to see two foreign players on the court. Players who enter the V-League through the Asian quota receive an annual salary of $100,000 (about 130 million won), which is lower than that of domestic players. However, looking at their performance at the Hangzhou Asian Games, their performance is even more anticipated. It is known to the public that the men's team is receiving world-class salaries this season, with an average of 229 million won and the women's team averaging 152 million won. At the same time, despite the high salary, it was pointed out that there was a lot of bubbles in the V-League as they were eliminated early from the Asian Games. In addition, the Asian quota was evaluated as a system that can make V-League salaries realistic. The 14 teams in the V-League men's and women's divisions recruited Asian quota players from six countries, including Japan, Taiwan, Mongolia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. For the men's team, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and OK Financial Group recruited Eddie (outside hitter/middle blocker) and Bayarsayhan (middle blocker), both Mongolian nationals who grew up in Korea. They had the advantage over other players not only in terms of skills but also in language communication. Hyundai Capital and KB Financial Group selected Taiwanese middle blocker Tsai Pei-chang and outside heater Liu Hong-min. Woori Card and Korea Electric Power Corporation selected Japanese national Apogee spiker Issei Otake and libero Ryohei Iga, respectively. Unlike the six teams that strengthened their weaknesses, Korean Air had many outside heaters such as Kwak Seung-seok, Ji-seok Jeong, Han-yong Jeong, and Jun Lee. Mark Espejo, an outside heater of Philippine nationality who was taken by Korean Air, was evaluated as an unexpected choice. In the women's division, three out of seven players are Thai nationals. All three are active in the Thailand women's volleyball team. IBK Industrial Bank recruited Thailand's starting setter Ponpoon Gedpard with the first overall pick, Hyundai Engineering & Construction strengthened its strength with outside heater Wipawi Sitong, and Korea Expressway Corporation strengthened its power with Apogit spiker Tanacha Ssuksot. Cheong Kwan-Jang selected Indonesian Apogit spiker Megawatti Puttywi, and Pepper Savings Bank selected Philippine middle blocker MJ Phillips. Heungkuk Life Insurance selected Reina Tokoku, a Japanese national who plays both an outside hitter and an opposing spiker. Phillips is a player with dual American and Filipino citizenship, and Reina is a mixed-race player whose father is from Ghana. GS Caltex was particularly troubled by the Asian quota. Indonesian outside hitter Mediyoku was selected for the first time, but due to starting setter Ahn Hye-jin's shoulder surgery, Thai setter Soraya Pomla was selected as a replacement. However, this player became pregnant ahead of the new season, so they had to go through a complicated process of recruiting Philippine national team setter Iris Tolenada. The Asian quarter is a card that the V-League has been thinking about and preparing for for a long time. At the beginning when their introduction was discussed, there was great concern that their recruitment would reduce the position of domestic players. However, as the number of talented domestic players decreased, there was no choice but to choose a strategy of filling empty court seats with additional foreign players. Some teams prepared for the new season with the Asian quota as a clear starting card. It is expected that their performance will determine the success or failure of the ranking battle. https://www.totositerank.com