(Asiad) Volleyball coach shifts focus to crucial Vietnam match after easy Qatar win

KOMAKI, Japan, Sept. 17 (Yonhap) -- After a comfortable 3-0 win over Qatar in a women's volleyball group match at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in central Japan on Thursday, head coach Cha Sang-hyun said he had already shifted his focus to the next match against Vietnam.

South Korea beat Qatar 3-0 (25-6, 25-6, 25-10) in Pool D action at Park Arena Komaki in Komaki, just north of the main host city of Nagoya, Japan.

Cha said he felt relieved by the clean sweep but thought his players needed to maintain their concentration ahead of the next match, slated for Friday.

"Today was important, but since tomorrow's game is so crucial, we have prepared ourselves to focus on that," Cha told reporters during a mixed-zone interview after the match. "We need to psych ourselves up one more time during our team meeting before tomorrow."

South Korea currently sits in first place in Pool D with two wins over Hong Kong and Qatar.

Vietnam, currently in second place following a win over Qatar the previous day, will face Hong Kong later Thursday and is expected to win and join South Korea at the top of the group standings.

Cha said the upcoming match against Vietnam is important because it will decide first place and could determine whether South Korea avoids China, one of Asia's volleyball powerhouses, in the quarterfinals.

Against Vietnam, Cha said winning the first set will be key, while reducing errors and making more aggressive plays in the latter part of the set will also be important.

"Ultimately, it comes down to how boldly we can play after reaching 20 points," he said. "I think the key will be whether we can do that without making errors and which team manages to seize the momentum in the first set."

South Korea has defeated Vietnam in two previous encounters in 2026, but needs one more victory en route to winning a medal at this year's Asian Games.

At the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, South Korea lost to Vietnam in a preliminary round and failed to advance to the medal round. It was the first time since 2006 that South Korea had missed an Asian Games medal in women's volleyball.

"Both the players and I will steel our resolve once more and do our best to put on a good match," he said.