This time, the total is 36. Expanded Asian players knock on the V-League door.
The Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) on Friday announced the dates and players for the 2024 KOVO Women’s Asian Quarterly Tryouts.
The Asia Quarter Tryouts, which will be held for the second time after last season, will take place from May 29 to May 1 at Halla Gymnasium and Sun Hotel in Jeju.
The first Asia Quarter was limited to 10 countries, 스포츠토토사이트 but this time around, the number of eligible countries has been expanded to 64.
Of the 37 new applicants, 30 players have been evaluated by their respective clubs and have been named to Jeju’s invitation list, and six players who played in the V-League in the 2023-2024 season have been added to bring the final 36 players to the island.
The tryouts will feature Jeong, who has been called the crown jewel of the V-League’s Asian quota introduction, and Wipawi, who made an Alto-esque contribution to Hyundai E&C’s title run, as well as Phillips (Pepper Savings Bank), Ponpun (IBK), Tanacha (Korea Expressway Corporation), and Darin (GS Caltex). There are also a number of new challengers, including Chinese middle blocker Wei Zhang (29-1m96), who was highly touted by several clubs in the pre-preference survey.
By nationality, Thailand has the most applicants with 11, followed by China with five. Indonesia, the Philippines, Kazakhstan and Vietnam each have three entries, followed by Iran, Australia and Japan. New Zealand and Taiwan also submitted one application each.
By position, there are 14 middle blockers, five outside hitters, 10 outside hitters, six setters, and one libero.
The oldest participant is 34-year-old Japanese outside hitter Mari Yamada (1.77 meters), born in 1990, and the youngest is Indonesian outside hitter Aulia Susi Nulfadira (1.76 meters), born in 2004 and turning 20 this year. The tallest are China’s Wei Zhang and Ruirei Huang, both 28, at 1.96 meters. Both are middle blockers.
The women’s players selected in the Asian Quarterfinals will earn $120,000 in their first year and $150,000 in their second year, with the bottom three teams from the previous season receiving 30, 25, and 20 marbles in the lottery in reverse order of picks, followed by the top four teams with 20 marbles.