KARACHI: Pakistan’s spiker Murad Khan stole the limelight on Friday during the Korean Volleyball League, also known as V-League, while playing for Incheon Korean Air Jumbos.
Murad scored 52 points during the match against Hyundai Skywalkers, which is the most in a single game this season. He notched up the season-high tally with an attack success rate of 72.73%.
The highest score of all time is 58 points by Gavin Schmidt in 2012.
Jumbos' coach Tommi Tiilikainen also lauded Murad after the match.
"52 points? It's amazing. It's an amazing record. Murad came in and showed great offensive power,” said Tiilikainen.
Meanwhile, Murad was also over the moon after his impressive performance.
"I'm happy that we won. It's the first time I've scored more than 50 points,” said Murad.
“I tried to follow the team’s style, and thanks to my hard work, I was able to achieve good results,” he added.
The aforementioned match was the longest in regular league history at 171 minutes. Jumbos won with a set score of 3-2 (19-25, 25-22, 25-21, 40-42, 15-11), earning two valuable points and moving up to second place on the table.
It must be noted that Murad is a temporary replacement for Lincoln Williams, who is rehabilitating from an injury.
Murad was also named on the list of applicants for last year's Korean V-League tryouts. He also appeared at the tryout held in Türkiye and received good reviews. However, he did not receive a nomination from any of the seven teams.
Murad had successfully expanded into overseas markets beginning in 2021. After two seasons in Serbia, he played in Bulgaria this year.
Muneeb Farrukh