Paris, France, September 29, 2019 – Poland grabbed the bronze medal at the men’s European Championship on Saturday and, right after the awarding ceremony in Paris, their libero Pawel Zatorski spoke to fivb.com about the national team’s season so far and his anticipation of the upcoming FIVB Volleyball World Cup in Japan.
“Of course, before the EuroVolley tournament we expected to play against hosts France in the final, not in the third place match, but this bronze medal is good as well,” the best libero of the 2018 World Championship said. “It was a great tournament, heavy as always and even heavier because of the increased number of teams, so we are happy we managed to go through it without injuries and we are in good health for the next challenge.”
This is the second bronze for Poland this season, after they finished third in the Volleyball Nations League in July. In August, they were also successful in their bid to earn a Tokyo 2020 spot by finishing top of the standings at their Olympic qualification tournament at home, in Gdansk.
“Our main goal this season was the Olympic qualification and we did it,” was Zatorski’s short comment on Poland’s season so far, but for the reigning world champions the season is not over yet.
“From here we go directly to Japan, where the World Cup starts in a couple of days. It is going to be difficult, especially with the difference in time zones and the jetlag, but we are going to fight. I hope we can achieve another medal and I hope it can be gold!”
Poland’s first match at the World Cup in Japan is against Tunisia at 15:00 local time on October 1 in Fukuoka.