Former head coach of the Russian men’s volleyball team Sergei Shlyapnikov believes that the non-admission of the men’s and women’s national teams to qualify for the 2024 Olympics will impoverish the main competitions of the four years.

Earlier it became known that the men’s and women’s teams of Russia will not play in the qualifying tournament of the 2024 Olympic Games due to suspension from international competitions. This information appeared on the website of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

– Of course, the Russian team at any competition is a contender for medals. In any competition, the highest tasks are set before us. Games with the Russian national team give pleasure to the audience in terms of entertainment, intensity, and individual skill. This is the difference between the schools of Russian, Asian, European volleyball – they showed advantages and beauty. The entertainment of volleyball lies in the struggle of these schools. We have an attacker, while the Asian ones, on the contrary, have a defensive plan. What wins, what prevails – this is the beauty and spectacle of our sport.

You know, the men’s team won silver medals at the last Games. Absence from the Olympics, of course, will impoverish both the male and female half. Women in the group stage defeated the Americans, who became champions. The absence of our national teams will impoverish the Olympic competitions! Any Olympics is an impetus, it shows what path of development volleyball will take in the next four-year cycle. One of the trendsetters are Russian national teams. Finding the right way, how to develop, will not be easy for world volleyball.

This generation may have a good future career. Young and talented girls came to the women’s team, whose careers can turn out quite well, – Shlyapnikov told the Championship.

The IOC recommended in February not to allow Russians and Belarusians to participate in the competition due to the situation in Ukraine. In March, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) followed the recommendations of the IOC.

The Paris Olympics will take place July 26-August 11, 2024.

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