Volleyball great Kim Yeon-koung finalizes retirement from int'l play

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korean volleyball star Kim Yeon-koung finalized her retirement from international play on Thursday, following a meeting with the head of the sport's national governing body.

The Korea Volleyball Association (KVA) announced that Kim reaffirmed her decision to leave the national team in a meeting with KVA President Oh Han-nam earlier Thursday.

Kim had first revealed her plans to retire from international play on Sunday, moments after South Korea's loss to Serbia in the bronze medal match of the Tokyo Olympics.

But after arriving back home on Monday, Kim left the door slightly open for a possible return, saying she would have to discuss her future with Oh before finalizing her decision.

Oh had previously said, while he wanted the 33-year-old player to stay on, he would also respect Kim's wishes.

Kim is widely regarded as the greatest volleyball player ever to come out of South Korea. She made her senior national team debut in 2005 and single-handedly turned South Korea into an international force.

With Kim leading the attack, South Korea reached the semifinals at two of the past three Olympic Games and won gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games.

In Tokyo, Kim carried the underdog South Korea on her back to an unlikely run to the final four. South Korea had a couple of five-set victories in the preliminary round, including a thriller over Japan, to reach the quarterfinals. South Korea, which entered the Olympics ranked 14th in the world, then upset world No. 4 Turkey in the quarterfinals in another five-setter, before losing to No. 2 Brazil in the semis and then No. 6 Serbia in the bronze medal match.

She finished second overall with 136 points in Tokyo.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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