The Australian Embassy here honored professional volleyball player Thomas Edgar with the designation of goodwill ambassador for his role in promoting friendly bilateral ties on Monday.

Australian Ambassador to South Korea William Paterson named the 24-year-old star athlete a goodwill ambassador in a small ceremony at the chancery’s Australia Center in downtown Seoul.

Edgar joined the LIG Greaters in South Korea during the 2012-2013 V-League season. He previously played for the Italian Serie A2 club Volley Corigliano during the 2011-2012 season and competed in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games for Australia.

“I am pleased to see more and more Australians achieving great things here in Korea in their chosen fields. Thomas Edgar is one of those Australians who is excelling in Korea,” said Paterson. “He has shown the real value of sports diplomacy, recognizing that Korea and Australia are great sporting countries and, it must be said, great rivals.”

The 2.12-meter-tall Edgar immediately proved a significant force for the Greaters, though the team currently trails in fifth place, behind the fourth place KAL Jumbos. The teams play each other next on March 11 at 10:00 a.m.

Each of the V-League’s seven men’s teams has been permitted to recruit one non-Korean since the V-League was founded in 2005.

The LIG Greaters volleyball team was founded in 1976. The team’s home stadium is the Gumi Park Chung-hee Stadium in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province. 

(ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)