Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance veteran middle blocker Kim Jae-hwi (31) has received great attention since his amateur days thanks to his extraordinary attack sense and blocking ability from his 201cm tall height. Several teams in the V League showed interest, and he was nominated by Hyundai Capital as the second-ranked player in the first round of the rookie draft in October 2015.안전놀이터
Kim Jae-hwi has emerged as a mainstay since his second year. He played in 34 matches and 87 sets, scored 68 points, and has surely settled down in the team. He was also selected for the national team and experienced the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang.
Before the 2020-2021 season, he moved to KB Insurance, and moved to Woori Card during the 2021-2022 season. However, it was a time of deep regret. He only played 20 games for KB Insurance and 37 games for Woori Card.
It was because of bad news that I had never dreamed of. Aortic aneurysm was found at a hospital examination that I happened to receive due to knee injury sustained in the national team in November 2022. It was a disease in which part of blood vessels swell up like balloons, and surgery was inevitable due to poor condition.
He lost a lot of weight and muscle mass. When he returned to Woori Card’s team training, he lost 15kg. He was full of worries and concerns, but he clearly believed that Park Chul-woo (retired) would play volleyball again as he had successfully returned to the team after overcoming his illness in the past.
Kim Jae-hwi, who met on the 12th in Shizuoka, Japan, where his current team Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance is conducting off-season training ahead of the 2024-2025 season, said, “I was very grateful just for the fact that I was working out again even though the return process was harsh.”
Kim Jae-hwi, who blew the entire 2022-2023 season, returned to Woori Card in the 2023-2024 season, and felt that his body gradually returned after the fifth round of the regular league, but he had no place to stand. I understood Woori Card’s team situation, which needed to change. I calmly accepted the reality.
“I came all the way here, but I didn’t want to collapse. I just thought I could run anywhere.” Fortunately, he found a bird nest in no time. Kim Sang-woo, manager of Samsung Fire, contacted him in May after having been engaged in individual training sessions. He suggested that he stay with him. The team hired Kim Jae-hwi as a free agent in July.
Under the banner of “reconstruction of a prestigious family,” Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance is spending a hot summer. Though Kim may feel exhausted due to the addition of physical fitness programs to harsh team training, Kim is simply happy.
From the outside, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance was a team with sufficient potential. I saw that there was a future even though there were not a few practical difficulties. “Everyone is desperate. The potential is infinite. The team heading for tomorrow develops,” is the judgment of Kim Jae-hwi, who has a strong mentality.
Kim recently received a warm message from an acquaintance, saying, “My heart is racing again.” Kim does not deny it. “I want to be remembered as a player who never gave up. What matters is his attitude. I hope that the players who suffer through me can endure it.”