Full of emotion and laughter at the first ‘Feast of Stars’ in the pandemic era
Kim Yeon-kyung and members of the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics are taking a commemorative photo with their seniors who won the bronze medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics in the professional volleyball all-star game held at Pepper Stadium in Gwangju on the 23rd. Gwangju | By Jung Ji-yoon, senior staff reporter
1976 Montreal semifinal hero appreciation event even Kim Yeon-kyung appeared ‘The stadium is thrilling’
Atmosphere up during the player/ coach dance time… ‘V Star Seungri’ MVPs Lim Seong-jin and Lee So-young
“Exactly. Just right. Just right. Exactly.”
The 2,850 people who filled the Gwangju Pepper Stadium were in perfect harmony. It looked as if they had practiced together the day before.
The Dodram 2021-2022 V League All-Star Game was held at Pepper Stadium in Gwangju on the 23rd. The V-League All-Star Game has been canceled for the past two seasons due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19. It was the first All-Star Game in three years, and it was also the first All-Star Game to be held in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The enthusiasm of the fans who made the All-Star tickets sold out within one minute of the start of the reservation on the 20th was no less than the All-Star Game before the pandemic. In accordance with the Corona 19 quarantine rules, wearing a mask and cheering for development was not possible, and only a support tool was used, but no one complained. In accordance with the quarantine rules, which can only fill 50% of the total spectator seats, one seat at a time was vacated, but in an orderly manner, he gave a warm applause to the players and teams he supported.
The V-League was also the first All-Star game in three years, so we were fully prepared. A large LED screen measuring 22m in width and 5m in length was installed on one side of the spectator’s seat to deliver a large and vivid image of the players to the spectators far away.
The highlight of the pre-event was the ‘Montreal Olympic Legend Appreciation Event’, where the 1976 Montreal Olympic women’s volleyball team and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic women’s volleyball team met. While the stadium lights were dimmed, the Montreal Olympic tribute video was displayed on the large LED screen. The following captions flowed over the still photos of the two national teams playing in real competitions. “Your sweat and tears who wrote the history of Korea remained as hope and passion in Tokyo, 35 years later, and warmed our hearts with an unforgettable drama.”
Jung Ji-yoon (left) and Lee Da-hyun are celebrating with a dance after scoring a goal. Gwangju | By Jung Ji-yoon, senior staff reporter
There was also a surprise event. It is the appearance of ‘Volleyball Empress’ Kim Yeon-kyung. Kim Yeon-kyung, who returned home on the 10th after finishing the Chinese women’s volleyball league, rushed to the All-Star Game that day to show respect to her seniors and meet fans after the quarantine was lifted. The Tokyo Olympic team delivered uniforms and bouquets of jersey number ‘1976’ to senior team members. At the end of the event, Kim Yeon-kyung, who was selected as the 2021 Female Player of the Year by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), was introduced. The audience applauded, and Kim Yeon-kyung responded with a bow.
The match, which consisted of 1st set women’s, 2nd set mixed, and 3rd set men’s division, was held in a pleasant feast atmosphere like an All-Star game. Various events such as the players’ ceremony after the game score, the players acting as coaches, and the referees participating in the game added to the fun of watching. At the ceremony, Hyundai E&C, who took the unrivaled first place in the women’s division, had the upper hand. Hyundai E&C’s Dahyun Lee performed a number of hot ceremonies, including after Park Jung-ah’s goal, not her own, and Hyundai E&C manager Kang Sung-seong, who participated as the V-star women’s coach, also came to the middle of the court and danced to ‘What We Disco’. . In the match set score, K-Star was ahead of V-Star by 2-1 (15-14 10-15 15-12), but V-Star won by one point by 41-40 as the total score was the deciding factor.
The MVPs were given to Im Seong-jin (Korea Electric Power Corporation) and Lee So-young (KGC Ginseng Corporation), respectively. The ‘Play of the Day’ award was presented to Hae-ran Kim (Heungkuk Life Insurance), who blew away the male players’ attacks. In the sub contest, Jo Jae-seong (OK Financial Group), who recorded a speed of 121 km/h, and So-young Lee (KGC Ginseng Corporation), who recorded a speed of 91 km, took the men’s and women’s championships, respectively.