Polish women’s volleyball team defeated Italy 3:1 (15:25, 26:24, 25:23, 25:21) in the final match of the qualification tournament in Łódź and qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The last time the White-Red played at the Olympics was in 2008.
The match against Italy was our national team’s seventh match in the tournament. They lost to Thailand 2:3, but defeated Slovenia 3:0, South Korea 3:1, Colombia 3:0, Germany 3:2 and USA 3:1.
The Italian women’s national team was the favourite to qualify for the Olympic Games. Italy went from victory to victory in the qualifying tournament. However, it was the last match, in which the Polish women excelled, which decided who would play at the Olympics.
“On the court we know that we have to be one team. Everyone supports each other. We would follow each other through fire and water,” admitted Polish volleyball player Martyna Czyrniańska after the match against Italy.
Another of Poland’s representatives Agnieszka Korneluk highlighted the off-field elements that contributed to the promotion. “Our mental strength is not something that appeared suddenly. We have been building it for some time. The two seasons we spent with coach Lavarini gave us confidence”, Korneluk stressed. “I didn’t do anything great. I watched this team maybe from a closer distance than you because that’s my privilege. It was a match full of emotions, the girls showed their fighting spirit. Maybe there wasn’t so much some outstanding volleyball because we made thousands of mistakes throughout the match. In many moments the opponent was better than us, as they had a lot of quality. In the most important moments, our girls showed a lot of courage, as well as unity”, said Stefano Lavarini, coach of the Polish national team, after the match.
In next year’s Olympic Games in Paris there will be 12 teams. The national teams which will certainly be present include France (host of the Olympic tournament), Serbia, Dominican Republic, Turkey, Brazil, United States and Poland. The remaining five teams will qualify according to their place in the world ranking.
Adrian Andrzejewski