"Life abroad was meaningful as a player." Return home → Park Ji-soo, center of Korea National University, took the heavy responsibility of captaincy
"Life abroad was meaningful as a player." Return home → Park Ji-soo, center of Korea National University, took the heavy responsibility of captaincy
Blog Article
KB and Korea's women's basketball team, Park Ji-soo, returned to the WKBL after playing overseas. He will also play the role of captain for the new season and lead the team.카지노사이트
Park returned to the WKBL after completing a year-long overseas career. After returning to the KB Stars team in Cheongju on Monday, Park will train for a while before being called up to the national team on Wednesday.
Park Ji-soo declared his overseas challenge after the 2023-2024 season and spent one season with Galatasaray in the Turkiye League. He must have learned and felt a lot while living abroad, both basketball and beyond.
Park Ji-soo said, "After joining the team, I worked out in the morning, but I still can't believe it. I will join the national team today and tomorrow after completing team training. After training for the national team, I will feel like I came back home after finishing my vacation. It's not my first time going abroad, but I think the way the league works in Europe is different. There are both the Euro Cup and the Turkiye League and the Cup, so at first, my schedule was quite tight, so I needed time to adjust. I think I passed like crazy. Having experienced it seems like I spent a meaningful time as a player."
"I hope my juniors will also go overseas someday if they have an opportunity to play overseas. I hope they will see and learn how foreign players live and train. It is hard to feel a difference if you stay in Korea alone. Also, it would be nice if they come back after realizing that Korea is a convenient and good environment for sports. It would be nice if they can go overseas, but there is a big difference if they bump into each other in person, not just through videos," he said.
Although she has only been away for one season, there have been many changes in the team and the league. First, Na Yoon-jung, who is famous for her best friend, joined the team. Although Na is recovering from a shoulder injury, she will be able to see the duo play of the two best friends for the upcoming season.
In addition, Park Ji-soo of the league also has to align himself with Japanese players due to the introduction of the Asian quarter system. KB selected Moe Nagata and Moe Shida last season, but Nagata left for Japan again, and it remains to be seen whether Shida will be able to join KB again.
That's why Park Jisoo has to adapt with new faces. Also, Park was appointed as KB's captain this season. Yeom Yoon-ah, who served as the team's oldest and captain for five years, strongly recommended Park Ji-soo as the next captain, and Park Ji-soo also accepted it, taking the center stage of the team. Park Ji-soo's role on and off the court has become significantly important. In addition, Na Yoon-jung is appointed as vice captain and leads the team with Park Ji-soo.
Park Jisoo said, "It's been a while since I met Yoon Jeong yesterday. When we exercise, we each focus on exercise, but we play pranks as much as we are close. However, we are trying to restrain ourselves and try to differentiate between public and private affairs. Yoon Jeong gets along well with her juniors and seniors. When I was in school, she was the captain. At that time, I focused on exercise in peace. It may be difficult for me, but I think she will be a great help and I expect me to do well. I also want to become a senior who will come to my juniors comfortably. Of course, I want to do well to my seniors and try my best not to get too excited about the overall atmosphere and attitude of the team, but I want to make it an atmosphere full of energy."
Meanwhile, KB was evaluated as a weak player last season, but as if mocking such a view from the public, they succeeded in advancing to the playoffs by showing basketball based on strong organizational power. In addition, with Park Ji-soo, the "Queen of WKBL," joining, KB emerged as a favorite at once.
Park Ji-soo, who has received a lot of attention since childhood, must know this. So Park Ji-soo must have set her goal of "winning." Park watched Woori Bank's victory ceremony for a long time on the court after losing at the 2023-2024 Championship in Asan.
Since then, Park Ji-soo has shed tears in the arms of her acquaintances and shared a warm hug with Na Yoon-jung, who was then a member of Woori Bank. Her emotions and tears at that time must have been an opportunity to grow up again as a player.
Park Ji-soo said, "It was the first time I had no regrets after playing the game. Even if people around me told me that I was greedy and that others had achieved a lot, I always had regrets, but I had no regrets at that time and I think I put more than 100% of my effort into it. Even if I work hard, I thought that I have to do something to get close to winning. At that time, I wanted to congratulate him sincerely while looking at the victory ceremony. Until now, I felt good only when I won and couldn't stand losing. However, at that time, the preparation process was quite difficult for us, and the opponent was also difficult, so I wanted to congratulate you on that. In particular, since we are close to (B) Yoon-jung, I think we cried because we know each other's situation."
She said, "Of course, I set my goal this year as the winner, but I'm trying not to feel pressured. I don't think there is any benefit to pressure. Rather, I think I should work harder because I was the captain. I also want all the players to be happy. Whether they will participate in the game or not is important, but I hope it will be a season where everyone is satisfied. I hope everyone will be happy without leaving any regrets. I am a person whose happiness is important."