Oleksandr Svishchov, President of the Water Polo Federation of Ukraine: “I want us to be in the top 10 countries of the continent”
“Both national teams face ambitious tasks: the men’s and women’s teams must make it to the main draw of the European Championship. And when they complete this task, I would like us to be in the top 10 countries of the continent”, – the president of the Water Polo Federation of Ukraine, Oleksandr Svishchov, in a comment of the media centre of the Water Polo Federation of Ukraine, shared his impressions of the 2022-2023 Super League championship, the ambitious tasks before the men’s and women’s national teams, and also summarised the performance of the women’s national team of Ukraine at the World Cup.
About the performance of the women’s national team of Ukraine at the World Cup in Germany.
– I carefully watched all matches of the national women’s team of Ukraine at the World Cup. To be honest, I was sure of at least one victory for the girls in our group. The biggest sediment remained after the first match against the Uzbekistan national team. Our girls looked good, dominated the pool, led the score and everything went to a logical conclusion, but at the end of the match mistakes were made in defence and the difference of three goals was lost. As a result, we lost against an opponent we had to beat. This negative result affected the girls psychologically and in the matches against South Africa and Israel, they failed to put up a fight. Despite the negative result, I would like to thank the coaches and girls, thanks to them women’s water polo is alive. Under the current conditions, during a full-scale war, we go to competitions and represent the country. Yes, at every international tournament I want higher results, but there are objective realities, there is a war in our country and many girls still live and train abroad. This factor is decisive in the process of team preparation and final performances. I want the girls not to lose heart, there is still qualification for the European Championship ahead of them and I believe that the women’s national team will demonstrate their best qualities there. The team has an ambitious task – to get a ticket to the main round of the European Championship.
About the Men’s Water Polo Super League
– Of course, the level of the Ukrainian Super League among men significantly decreased after the start of the full-scale war. The base cities where there were strong teams, Kharkiv and Mariupol, are now completely different, the teams have undergone significant rejuvenation. Many players only take their first steps in water polo at the adult level. Our present is not easy, but at the same time, young players have a great opportunity to gain experience from older water polo players, develop and become better. I really like the Mariupol team now, the guys, not being at home, take part in the championship, in every round they show a thirst for victory and good results. Today, it is good that there are six teams in the men’s Super League, and there is a fight for prizes. I believe that after the victory in the war against the russian aggressor, our sport will develop rapidly.
About the tasks of the men’s and women’s national teams of Ukraine for 2023
– The men’s and women’s national teams of Ukraine have ambitious tasks – to break into the main draw of the European Championship and represent our country there. When the teams complete this task, the next goal will be to get into the top 10 national teams of the continent.
