Svishchov: The U20 national team was supposed to compete for a spot in the final and promotion to Division A
Oleksandr Svishchov, president of the Ukrainian Water Polo Federation, harshly criticized the performance of the U20 junior national team at the European Championship, where the team finished only in sixth place, losing its chance to advance to the elite Division A.
According to him, this result does not reflect the team’s potential.
“We set the highest goal—reaching the final and advancing to Division A. Based on its level of play, this team was capable of achieving that. That’s why sixth place is a missed opportunity,” said Svishchov.
The botched start decided everything
The federation president cited a weak start to the tournament as the key reason for the failure.
The team took a long time to get into the rhythm of the competition and lost important points early on, which effectively ended their chances of reaching the final. It wasn’t until midway through the tournament that the team began to show what they were truly capable of.
The Ukrainians secured a crucial victory over the host nation, Portugal (11–10), routed the so-called “neutral” athletes (18–6), and confidently defeated Great Britain.
In the fifth-place match, the team lost to Georgia by a narrow margin of 12–13.
U16 and women’s teams: no upsets
Ukraine’s other national teams ended the international season without any standout results.
The U16 boys’ team finished 25th at the World Championship, but managed to end the tournament on a high note with victories over Israel and China.
The women’s U20 and U16 national teams finished 15th at the European Championships. According to Oleksandr Svishchov, this reflects their current level of play.
“We lag behind the top teams in terms of the number of pools, internal competition, and international standards. This is a systemic problem, not just an issue with a single tournament,” he emphasized.
Some of the U20 players are already ready for the national team
Regardless of the result, the federation sees him as a potential addition to the main team.
According to Svishchov, several U20 players are already capable of competing at the national team level—both physically and tactically.
“Every game—thanks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine”
The federation president also emphasized that Ukrainian teams are able to participate in international tournaments only thanks to the military.
“Every away trip and every match played under the Ukrainian flag is thanks to our defenders. We are grateful to the Armed Forces of Ukraine for this opportunity,” Svishchov said.
