First impression in Korea
On the evening of January 7, middle blocker Tran Thi Bich Thuy made her debut for the GS Caltex Seoul Kixx team in the Korean national volleyball championship when the club faced Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders.
Bich Thuy's new team is on a disappointing losing streak, so they are not expected to face a top-ranked and highly-performing opponent. However, the girls of GS Caltex Seoul Kixx played resiliently and won with a dramatic score of 3-2 (25-19, 25-18, 22-25, 21-25, 15-13).
This result also helped coach Lee Young-taek and his team end a streak of 14 consecutive losses, earning their second win in this year's tournament.
In the recent match, Bich Thuy was given the opportunity to play from the start. She mainly played in the back row, not receiving the ball from the setter because GS Caltex advocated feeding the ball to the Cuban foreign player - opposite setter Gyselle Silva.
However, the Vietnamese middle blocker still knew how to leave his mark, performing well when scoring 5 points (2 attack points, 1 block point, 2 serve points). Bich Thuy had the opportunity to show off her neat smashes at position number 3 and one of them brought the home team a point.
These are positive signs for Bich Thuy at her new team. Although she has only been with the team for a few days, she has left a good first impression on experts and the Korean media.
"With a height of 184cm, Bich Thuy is highly appreciated for her ability to attack quickly and read situations well. She has taken on the key position of the Vietnamese women's volleyball team and especially shined in the match against the Korean team at the 19th ASIAD, attracting the attention of fans with her excellent skills," Xports News praised the 2000-born middle blocker.
Opportunity to return to Vietnam team
In 2025, Vietnamese women's volleyball will continue to be busy with 6 international tournaments, focusing on the goal of winning the 33rd SEA Games gold medal. To overcome opponents, especially host Thailand, coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet needs to have the best personnel in hand.
Good performance at the 2024 National Volleyball Championship, combined with the opportunity to compete in Korea, will be the reasons for Bich Thuy to believe that she will have the opportunity to return to the Vietnam women's volleyball team in 2025.
Bich Thuy is a member of the Vietnamese women's volleyball team that participated in the 31st SEA Games, winning a silver medal at home. In 2023, she will regularly be a part of the national team under head coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet.
The absence of this middle blocker from the coaching staff of the Vietnam women's volleyball team in 2024 has caused many fans to regret. However, for this player, she sees this as a motivation to push herself to play better and find a chance to return.
The current period will certainly be a memorable period because Bich Thuy will have positive changes in her professional skills. Any Vietnamese athlete going abroad is bewildered but the ultimate goal is professional skills.
Therefore, Vietnam's middle blockers need to focus on training and competition, ignoring many negative surrounding factors to gain the trust of head coach Lee Young-taek as well as the trust of Mr. Nguyen Tuan Kiet.
