Kim Yeon-koung one step away from championship farewell

Kim Yeon-koung is just one win away from a “teary coronation.” In the second match of the 2024–2025 V-League Championship Final between the Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders and JungKwanJang Red Sparks in Incheon, Kim led a dramatic comeback victory, 3–2 (23–25, 18–25, 25–22, 25–12, 15–12), scoring 22 points.

After dropping the first two sets, Heungkuk stormed back to take the next three, powered by Kim’s clutch performance. Kim contributed six of the team’s 15 points in the decisive fifth set. Heungkuk head coach Marcello Abondanza said, “We wouldn’t have been able to win without Kim. Even as she nears retirement, she showed her true class.” JungKwanJang coach Ko Hee-jin also praised her dominance: “Kim’s performance in the fifth set was the most incredible I’ve ever seen from her. I couldn’t get my players to stop her.”

Kim acknowledged the emotional weight of what may have been her final home game in a career that has spanned more than two decades. “I felt a lump in my throat,” she said after the match. “Something was welling up inside me.”

Having taken the first two games at home, Heungkuk will be able to secure the fifth championship title if it wins in Game 3, set for Friday at Chungmu Gymnasium in Daejeon. For Kim to return to Incheon, her team would have to lose Game 4 on April 4 and April 6. “I don’t think our fans want us to return to Incheon,” Kim said with a smile. “We’ll try to finish it in Daejeon.”

Having already announced her retirement, this season marks Kim’s final pursuit of a championship. “I haven’t cried much in public. The last time I cried was during my national team retirement press conference,” she said. “But I think I’ll cry a lot during my final match. I hope people see me in a beautiful light, even if I cry too much.”


김정훈 기자 hun@donga.com