Russia's superstar Ekaterina Gamova is one of the players set to make the headlines at the upcoming FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship Italy 2014
Novogorsk, Russia, September 13, 2014 – The comeback of Ekaterina Gamova to the Russian national team for the upcoming FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship Italy 2014 has drawn much attention.
Gamova, who announced her intention to stop playing for the national team after losing a dramatic quarterfinal match with Brazil at the London Olympics, changed her mind and will be trying to help Russia claim a third consecutive crown once the action gets under way on September 23. Russia will start their campaign in Verona where the reigning champions will be playing USA, Netherlands, Thailand, Mexico and Kazakhstan.
“We are currently having a training camp in Novogorsk, on the outskirts of Moscow,” Gamova said. “We have been working out, practicing on the court, working on tactics and combinations, I guess as any other team participating in the World Championship is doing right now. We have been working a lot and I hope that this will bring the desired results once we go to the World Championship.”
Another “grande dame” of Russian volleyball, Lioubov Sokolova, was also due to come back to the national team, but a few days ago it was announced she would not join the ranks of the squad under coach Yury Marichev.
“Of course it is a pity that Liouba won’t be with us at the World Championship,” Gamova said. “When she is in a good shape, she is very difficult to stop and is one of the world’s best players in her position. However, she is also a professional and she understands that in her current physical condition she would not help the team as she would like to. I can’t deny that we have all been waiting and hoping for her comeback but now we are playing and practicing knowing that she won’t be with us. I hope that her absence won’t affect the quality and perspectives of our team. Anyway, she is a super professional and she can best assess her condition and her readiness to join and help the team.”
A lot of things have changed since the 2006 and 2010 editions of the World Championship when Russia won back-to-back titles.
“Of course, we have a lot of young girls and they are all excellent players who last year won gold at the European Championship,” Gamova pointed out. “I felt very good right after the first time we came together. And anyway, it’s sport and so everyone knows that we have a job to do and to work hard. I know Tatiana Kosheleva, Regina Moroz and Evgenia Startseva very well because we have been playing together with the same club. I know Nataliya Obmochaeva well too since we have been on the national team together in the past. The backbone of the team is very good and strong.
“I was invited to join the team by coach Marichev only in early August, and therefore so far I haven’t played any matches. I started training in early August with my club down in Kazan as most of these girls were playing the World Grand Prix, and we first met in Kaliningrad where we had some training together, but things have become really serious and much more intensive now here in Novogorsk.
“My family and husband are planning to come to Italy to the World Championship. I still do not know at which stage of the competition they will be there, but at least for the most important matches,” said Gamova, who is married to film-maker and film-producer Mikhail Mukasey. “I always feel their presence in the arena and it really helps. After all, you always want to play a good game and please your closest fans, which are your relatives. I hope that we will be able to perform well and bring a lot of joy to our families and of course to all Russian fans. The more we have in the arena, the happier we will be, so I invite as many as possible to come and cheer us on.”