The whole world will learn about Ukrainian water polo!

russia’s invasion of Ukraine canceled the plans of millions of people. Athletes, in particular, water polo players, were no exception. The players of the men’s and women’s water polo teams of Ukraine made plans, dreamed of victories and world tournaments. February 24 canceled all plans. But we do not give up: I am convinced that after Ukraine’s victory, water polo will make a rapid leap in development.

It is clear that now, when the war is going on, the competitions of the championships of Ukraine in water polo among men and women are impossible. Many players are not physically in their cities. For example, athletes from Kharkiv serve in the Armed Forces or Teroboron, as does the team from the Kyiv region. Those who do not serve are engaged in volunteer work, go on night shifts and cooperate with humanitarian headquarters in the same Lviv.

The women’s Premier League is also in a difficult situation: their main bases are in Kramatorsk, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Kyiv. The vast majority of our girls went abroad.

Unfortunately, there are also losses: in Mariupol, the former captain of the Ukrainian water polo team, Yevhen Obedinskyi, died due to shelling. He was not only a talented water polo player and master of sports, but also a kind and sensitive person, a great lover of life. And his daughter was only recently freed from Russian captivity. We also miss another water polo athlete – Oleg Holodnikov. The memory of these wonderful boys will forever remain in our hearts.

On the other hand, there is positive news: in the first weeks of the war, we managed to help children and young people from our water polo family to evacuate to safe places and, if possible, to continue training. Fortunately, many federations responded: from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania, Germany, Italy, Romania and other countries. They offered the best conditions for our children, and young water polo players still remain abroad, where they have good living conditions and a constant opportunity for active training. Huge thanks to our partners!

In order to save their teams, the federation is sending letters to Poland, Slovakia, Georgia, Turkey with a request that they enter a team of our juniors aged 16 to 19 in one of their championships. It is very important to preserve the skeleton of young water polo players who will become the main players of the Ukrainian national team in the future.

And recently, the U-19 women’s water polo team performed very well at the European Championship in Israel: the wards of Oleksandra Mironenko in Netanya won a convincing victory over the British team with a score of 13:8. Despite all the difficulty of preparation and the lack of a full training cycle, our girls show themselves very well during this championship. Regardless of the results, they are already real well done!

Another notable sports event will soon take place: the student universiade in Lodz, Poland – the Ukrainian men’s national team, students of the Lviv University of Physical Culture, will play there. Despite the lack of game practice and unusual conditions for training, I believe that we will be able to win gold medals in Poland. Today, Ukraine is a world-famous brand, and Ukrainian athletes must win and glorify their country.

And already in August, the world championship among boys under 16 years of age will take place, which will be held in Greece. With the unprecedented support of the water polo family from all over Europe, I am confident that we will be able to gather as many core players as possible

The war continues, and it affected all spheres in Ukraine, including sports, in particular, water polo. In Kharkiv and Mariupol, where there were strong water polo schools, the pools were destroyed, and currently the development of water polo in these cities is difficult or even impossible. But I look to the future with optimism. We will definitely win, we will restore our cities and sports infrastructure. We will build modern sports complexes equipped with swimming pools and bring Ukrainian water polo to a new level. The whole world will hear about Ukrainian water polo players!

Source of the article: https://censor.net/ua/blogs/3352793/pro_ukranske_vaterpolo_dznatsya_ves_svt