Oleksandr Svishchov: Our water polo players should represent Ukraine with dignity at the 2022 World Cup among young men under 16 years of age

The first U-16 World Water Polo Championship will start in the Greek city of Volos on August 21.

25 teams will take part in the tournament, including Ukraine. Rivals of our young men in group E will be peers from Italy and Egypt.

Oleksandr Svishchov, the president of the Water Polo Federation of Ukraine, expressed hope that our boys will represent Ukraine worthily at the World Championship in Greece, and also assessed the Ukrainians’ chances.

— Indeed, the group in which our young water polo players fell is difficult. Italy is the European champion in 2021 among youths under 16 years old. Egypt are the champions of southern Africa, so the boys will need to show character and Cossack spirit to win. I am sure that our boys can beat Egypt and leave the group from the second place.

The president of the Water Polo Federation of Ukraine emphasized that it is difficult to predict anything in general, because there is no unequivocal favorite in this age category.

According to him, at the age of 16, water polo players are very unstable, they can burn out banally and show nothing, or vice versa – come out to demonstrate their character and please us with a victory.

— The game in the pool, which we are looking forward to, will show everything. I would like to note that the fact that the young men will be at the World Championship in water polo is very honorable for us. In the entire history of independence, only one Ukrainian men’s water polo team participated in the World Championship, and that was back in 1999. Therefore, of course, even the very fact that our young men are at the 2022 World Water Polo Championship is already a certain feat and a unique competition for young water polo players.

Oleksandr Svishchov also spoke about the tasks that were set before the water polo players and the coaching staff.

— First of all, we want the boys to gain experience and enjoy the game. The leadership of WPFU always sets maximum goals for every tournament where our water polo players participate. 24 teams will compete in Greece, our boys should be among the top 10 teams in the world.

But Svishchov added that if this does not happen, then no one will criticize the boys.

— In the conditions of the war, the boys did not have the opportunity to hold a full-fledged meeting and did not see each other for a long time. I hope that our coach Yevhen Naumchyk will be able to unite the team and find the right words of motivation, he is a very qualified specialist who works well with young players.

Therefore, I am sure that coaching experience and young character and passion for fighting will bring us the desired result. I believe in our young men, good luck to you in the pool. Represent our country well on the international stage. Glory to Ukraine!

The first World Water Polo Championship among U-16 teams starts on August 21 and will last until August 27 in the Greek city of Volos. The competition will take place in two pools, indoor and outdoor.