INCHEON (Yonhap) ― Lee Sun-goo, head coach of the South Korean female volleyball squad, will be leading a team on a mission ― to end the country’s 20-year gold medal drought at the upcoming Asian Games at home.

“I think it’s our mission to win gold here on our home turf,” Lee said while running the practice Tuesday in Songrim Stadium in Incheon, west of Seoul, the host city of this year’s Asian Games.

“Our players feel the pressure to hunt for the first Asiad gold in 20 years,” Lee added.

“They know the Korean people’s huge expectations.”

The female volleyball team won gold at the 1994 Hiroshima Asiad but has failed to capture another gold since. South Korea has won three silvers in the past four Asiads, while China has won gold medals in each of those four.

South Korea lost to China in the five-set final at the Guangzhou Asian Games in 2010. It had a gold medal point, leading 14-12 in the fifth set, but surrendered four straight points to China as the gold medal slipped through its grasp.

Four years have passed, and South Korea will once again have to climb over China for the gold medal. The two rivals have clashed three times this year ahead of the Asian Games.

South Korea lost to China 3-1 in the preliminary round of the 2014 World Grand Prix in August and finished runner-up at the Asian Volleyball Confederation Cup last week after losing to China in the final 3-0. China also beat South Korea 3-0 in a group round match.

Lee said the defeats taught him a lesson: Mistakes are the biggest enemy.

“I don’t think we are far behind China. Each match was tight. We lost nearly every set by two or three points,” the coach said.

“That means we can beat them if we can keep our mistakes to three or four in each set.”

He expected Kim Yeon-koung, his most lethal offensive weapon, to execute his tactics with her scoring and serving prowess.

Kim, who plays for the Turkish club Fenerbahce, is regarded as one of South Korea’s best female volleyball players ever. She captured the MVP award at the European Champions League in the 2011-2012 season and earned the same honors at the 2012 London Olympics even though South Korea lost to Japan in the third-place match.

At last month’s Grand Prix, Kim was the best scorer and server.

However, the head coach said Kim needs more time to recover from exhaustion after playing a tight schedule, covering the Grand Prix and the AVC Cup. Another star player, Han Song-yi, has complained of ankle pains.