South Korea's men's volleyball team concluded the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in 7th place.
Under the guidance of head coach Isanaye Ramirez, South Korea defeated Qatar 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-16) in the 7th and 8th place playoff held on October 3 at the Okazaki Central Comprehensive Park Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
Shin Ho-jin (Hyundai Capital) led the team with 14 points, while Choi Jun-hyuk (Korean Air) contributed 13 points and Heo Soo-bong (Hyundai Capital) added 12 points to secure the victory.
Qatar's Mubarak Moussa Madout, a 210 cm tall player born in 2012, stood out by scoring 16 points, the highest in the match.
The South Korean men's volleyball team aimed for a medal in this tournament. After defeating the Philippines and Taiwan in the group stage, they seemed to be on track but suffered a comeback loss to China, the 2022 Hangzhou tournament runner-up, with a set score of 2-3, finishing second in their group and advancing to the quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinals, they faced Iran, the champions of the Hangzhou tournament, and lost in a tightly contested match, 2-3, eliminating them from medal contention. They then lost to India 1-3 in the subsequent 5th to 8th place playoff, leading them to the 7th and 8th place match.
This marks the second consecutive Asian Games where the South Korean men's volleyball team has finished without a medal, following a 7th place finish at the 2022 Hangzhou Games, the first time they missed out on medals since the 1962 Jakarta Games.
Earlier, the women's volleyball team also finished 4th after losing to Thailand 0-3 in the bronze medal match. South Korean volleyball was the only sport among the four major professional sports (baseball, soccer, basketball, and volleyball) at this tournament to not secure a medal.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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