Korean Air coach Tommy Tilikainen said he decided to accompany Murad Khan because Lincoln Williams Australia is not as strong as before, rather than keeping Woori Card in check.
Korean Air has recently announced that it will replace foreign players with Murad from Lincoln. As Lincoln was sidelined from late November due to waist and knee injuries, Murad was hired as a temporary replacement for Lincoln in late December last year.
According to the Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) regulations, if the injury of the existing foreign player is more than four weeks, a temporary replacement foreign player can be brought in. However, they must choose between the existing rehabilitation player and the temporary replacement foreign player within two months from the date of issuance of the medical certificate. On the 12th, 60 days after submitting the medical certificate to KOVO, Korean Air said goodbye to Lincoln and decided to accompany Murad.
Murad displayed his presence by scoring a whopping 52 points in the match against Hyundai Capital on April 12. However, he spends more time in the warm-up zone than in the court. Lim Dong-hyuk, a native apogit spiker, is doing his best.
This is why some analysts say that Korean Air might have chosen Woori Card. Woori Card is looking for a substitute as its foreign player Mattei Kok is virtually out for the season due to an ankle injury. However, it is not easy to find a substitute as other leagues are also in season and have limited candidates for recruitment.
If Korean Air had accompanied Lincoln and said goodbye to Murad, Woori Card could have hired Murad as a substitute. In contrast, even if Lincoln leaves Korean Air, it is not allowed to move to another club immediately.
"It was not an easy decision to choose Murad because we only considered our team's situation, regardless of the situation of other teams Woori Card. I have a lot of good memories with Lincoln. With Lincoln's performance, we won a lot and our team has grown," Tillikainen said. "We also took into account the fact that Lincoln's offense is not as strong as before."
Coach Tillikainen contacted Lincoln in person and informed him of the final decision. Lincoln also reportedly replied, "We respect your decision. We will continue to support Korean Air."
At the match on Friday, Murad rewarded his coach's trust with a short but powerful shot. Coach Tillikainen deployed Lim Dong-hyeok in the match against OK Financial Group on Sunday. Lim scored 25 points, the most among the two teams, but he made 14 mistakes. Notably, in the fourth set 24-21, back attack attacks were blocked by opponents twice, and he was chased 24-23 and even below his chin.
The match between Korean Air and OK Financial Group at the Dodram 2023-24 V-League took place at Gyeyang Gymnasium in Incheon on the afternoon of the 14th. Korean Air won the match with a set score of 3-1 25-18 25-13 21-25 25-23. Korean Air's Murad rejoices after hitting a spike to secure its fourth set victory.
Coach Tillikainen then replaced Setter from Han to Yoo Kwang-woo, and Apogit Spiker from Lim Dong-hyuk to Murad as well. Murad scored as soon as he stepped on the court for the second time, following 24-18 in the first set. Murad was happy running around the court.
Coach Tillakainen said, "It's not easy for Murad to come in as a substitute at the end and finish the game, so we did a good job," adding, "It's a big advantage that we have two apogit spikers." 안전 토토사이트
Coach Tillikainen said, "Our goal is to write a new history by achieving the first four consecutive integrated wins in the V League."