Volleyball player Pankov said that the Russian team will hope to the last to participate in the 2024 Games

The linker between Dynamo Moscow and the Russian national volleyball team, Pavel Pankov, said that the national team will wait until the last minute for a change in the decision to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on December 8 that it will allow Russian and Belarusian athletes who have successfully qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in a neutral status. However, admission recommendations include a ban on the Russian national team participating in team competitions.

— The Olympic Games will be held next year, where, most likely, there will be no Russian volleyball team. With what feelings do you observe what is happening: melancholy, sadness, or have you managed to abstract yourself?

— To be honest, I don’t watch at all. When we played international matches, I followed the championships of Italy and Turkey, but now I don’t. I even deleted the channel, it’s not interesting to me, like all foreign matches. I watch analyzes of each round of the Russian Championship, this is interesting to me.

— The Olympics are the main tournament of the four years. What are your expectations?

— We are waiting for the Olympic Games. We believe until the end that something can change and they will let us in. We will prepare and wait until the last minute.

— If they don’t allow it to Paris, will it be a big blow for Russian volleyball?

– It won’t, there’s nothing wrong with that. We will wait for the next Olympic Games. In 2026 I will be 32 years old, the most important thing is to take care of my health and continue to play.

— Do you miss the national team matches?

— Matches, that is, we are playing with Belarus. Let’s get together and train. This is interesting, you get new experience from the best players in Russia – this is also necessary,” Metaratings.ru quotes Pankov as saying.