St. Petersburg Zenit player Kovalev said that he will not watch volleyball at the Olympics

St. Petersburg Zenit setter Dmitry Kovalev said that he will not watch the volleyball tournament at the 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.

— Will you watch the Olympics and its volleyball tournament in particular, where Russians were not allowed?

— It’s not interesting to watch the Olympics, because Russia doesn’t exist. Without Russia, these places will no longer be played out so fairly.

Well, we’ll be rooting for (French national team libero) Zhenya (Grebennikov). Still, he’s a nice person, a great volleyball player, a great player. We’ll keep an eye on him.

— In your collection there are medals from the Russian Championship, gold from the League of Nations as part of the national team. At the same time, at the club level, spend your career in Russia. Have you ever wanted to try yourself abroad?

— Sometimes such thoughts came to mind. But not all goals have been achieved in the Russian Championship. And I want—I really, really want—to achieve these goals. You can think about it later. But now I want to be here and I’m making every effort to achieve my goals,” Betonmobile quotes Kovalev as saying.

The Olympic Games in Paris will take place from July 26 to August 11.