Kim Yeon-Koung
Kim, who has collected 63 points in those two contests against USA and Serbia, doesn’t seem to pay much attention to her scoring feats. In fact, she can’t recall her personal best with the national team or professional club.
“I am more concerned on being a complete player,” said the Korean who’s one of the elite players included in the Heroes promotional campaign of FIVB. “So I don’t pay too much attention to total points and focus more on about winning.”
“Maybe 35 with the National Team and perhaps 40 or more playing in the Korean League, I really can’t remember.” Kim said to a group of reporters gathered in the FIVB lounge at Earls Court, the volleyball venue for the Olympics.
When it was mentioned that she is considered the best attacker in the world, one of the journalists asked who she considered the second best.
“Frankly, I can’t mention anybody in particular but looking around all the photos in this room I can see a lot of good players,” Kim answered. “But I don’t want to get into that matter. There are many good players in the world.”
As part of the Heroes Campaign the stellar player was also inquired about a possible personal hero or a role model she follows.
“I really want to copy the best things and learn from the best players,” Kim said. “For example I like the way Logan Tom (United States outside-hitter) plays but she is not the only one, there are some others I also watch.”
Kim is frequently referred as “The Asian Gamova” because of her height and capacity to score similar to the towering Russian Ekaterina Gamova.
“Well, that makes me very happy to hear that, but I really want to be considered more as a complete player than an offensive one, and I continue to work on polishing my overall game,” she commented.
Playing in Europe has been a gratifying experience for Kim but she is also sad of the fact that many Korean players and coaches don’t have the same opportunity.
“It has been a great experience for me to play in Europe against very tall players,” she said. “I like also the life style, the food and everything.”
