Sunil Girls’ High School captain Hajiyoon Haji (168 cm, G) cites Heo Ye-eun and Lee So-hee as her role models.

The 2024 Korea Basketball Weekend League Regional Qualifiers kicked off on July 15. While the tournament is in full swing in regions other than Honam and Gyeongsangbuk-do, the girls’ middle school and high school teams will begin in earnest in July.

Sunil Girls’ High School is also in the midst of preparations for the Weekend League. After winning the championship trophy at the Spring Federation Games in March, Sunil Women’s High School finished runner-up at the April Federation Championships. They have been cruising in the tournaments they have participated in this year, reaching the quarterfinals in the May 먹튀검증 Federation Championship.

Captain Hajiyoon, who was named the best player of the Spring Federation Championships and the best player of the Association Championships, is also the centerpiece of the team.

“In the last game of the Federation Championship, I suffered an ankle injury. At the start of the second quarter, I was chasing an opponent for a layup when I stepped on my foot and turned my ankle. I rehabilitated for about a month, and now I’m fine to train. Right now, I’m focusing on improving my fitness,” she said.

Coach Oh Chung-ryeol of Sunil Girls’ High School said of Hajiyoon, “She is small in stature, but she has excellent dribbling and one-on-one skills. She is fast and active, and she always works hard. However, she needs to do more weight training.”

When asked about his strengths and weaknesses, Hajiyoon said, “I am confident in using my dribbling and speed to shake up the defense. However, in team sports, I tend to hold the ball for a long time. I’m trying to reduce my misses when I’m not strong enough.”

We also talked to Hajiyoon about her past competitions. First, Hajiyoon talked about the Spring Federation Games, which she won, saying, “It was easy to win because we played good defense. In the winter, I had to go on a lot of training trips due to gym construction. Thanks to that, my game stamina improved quickly, and I tried to follow the coach’s instructions well, which led to good results.”

“I wasn’t as satisfied as I was at the Spring Federation Games, but my coach encouraged me to be confident and I was able to win individual awards. After becoming the best player at the Spring Federation Games, I felt some pressure. It was the first time I won an individual award, but I think it was a good experience to overcome (that pressure), and I think it was a chance to grow,” she said.

However, she was disappointed with her performance at the Federation Championships. “We met Sookmyung Women’s High School in the final of the association championship, but we lost by a large margin. When we met Sookmyung Women’s College again in the qualifiers for the Federation Championships, the score was close at first, but we decided to play our own game. Even though we lost, it’s positive that we have hope in the process of catching up. Individually, we didn’t show anything due to injuries, and we didn’t have the right response to the opponent who analyzed us.”

As for the advice he usually receives from coach Oh, he said, “He tells me to be confident in situations where I hesitate. We play full-court press, and he tells me a lot about switch defense and mismatches. I’m trying to get better at those things that he talks about.”

Hajiyoon is in his final year of high school. He cites Heo Ye-eun (Cheongju KB Stars) and Lee So-hee (Busan BNK) as his role models. “Heo Ye-eun has excellent passing ability and game coordination. I want to emulate that, and I also want to learn from Lee So-hee’s speedy attacks and shot timing.”

Finally, Hajiyoon said, “My goal is to win the league this weekend. I want to stay injury-free and show everything I’ve been practicing. I will play as well as I can and challenge myself to become a professional.” She concluded the interview with the determination to do so.