Kicking it up a gear

One of the Republic of Korea's women's team captains, 33-year-old "feeder" Lee Min-ju, underlined the importance of teamwork in the sport after ROK's 2-0 semifinal victory over Indonesia on Thursday: "I think the key was our unity — one team, one by one. This is the result of our focus and concentration."

After Thailand took gold with a 2-0 victory over traditional rival Malaysia in the men's team final on Friday, 31-year-old feeder Pichet Pansan, said: "You see us now, and it looks easy, right? But you must start by kicking the ball 1,000 times a day. And if you want to spike, you must start doing it from a very early age, train a lot and be fearless."

His teammate, fellow feeder and co-captain, Pattarapong Yupadee, agreed.

"The secret of being a champion or playing well is to dedicate a lot of time," the 39-year-old said.

"I give my best on the court. I don't think about whether I win or I lose, but I take into account every little detail of my performance at every point, in every set. I hope that this sport will spread throughout the world and that every continent will play it."

Thailand striker Sittipong Khamchan, 30, said: "I hope that foreign players can also come to play in Thailand in the future, so they can see what we do in Thailand. Together, we can all improve the standard of players and ultimately make the sport better."