Ukraine is preparing for the World Volleyball Championships in Finland under the leadership of Ugis Krastins, a coach who has had a long career. Ukraine got a place in the final tournament when Russia was excluded from the Games.
The Ukrainian men’s volleyball team is preparing to play at the World Championships in Poland and Slovakia in August-September. Latvian head coach Ugis Krastins tells Urheilu that the team is set to play in the Golden League, which begins in late May.
Ukraine was awarded a place in the World Cup ranking when the original host Russia was shut down after the country invaded Ukraine. The Games were moved to Poland and Slovenia.
– Before the matter was published, we were asked if we were ready to play. We replied that yes we are. It’s not an easy task, but I think it’s possible, Krastins says by phone from his native Latvia.
Krastins, who has played and coached in Finland for a long time in his career, will gather his team in Estonia for May, and the volleyball association will provide Ukrainians with the opportunity to live and train in cooperation with the country’s government.
– The Ministry of Sports has recently made decisions to allow athletes preparing for big events to leave the country. We hope to get all the players in the Golden League already. The volleyball community has supported us tremendously, Krastins says.
Before the World Cup, the national team is scheduled to stay and practice in Poland.
– The Ukrainian government does not have any extra money, because all the money goes to war. We strive to be in the best possible condition.
Ukraine initially fell extremely low from the World Cup with the lime lines of the qualifiers. The country is scheduled to play in the Games in the same block as Puerto Rico, Serbia and Tunisia.
– All players are really happy about the venue. It is, of course, symbolic that we are going to the Games instead of Russia, because, as we know, they are doing enormous damage to Ukraine. A place at the World Championships is kind of an award for Ukrainian sports. This is one of the few good news for a long time in Ukrainian sports, Krastins says.
Constant connection with players
Krastins has lived in Ukraine for a long time, as he coaches Barkom-Kazhany Lviv, the main league club, in addition to the national team. He escaped from Ukraine on the second day of the war.
– Of course, I first contacted the Latvian Embassy, and they offered me some options for getting out of the country. However, I decided to act on my own, and when I got the information from the border, I made my decision. Since I lived in Lviv, it was quite safe for me to leave. I got away with the help of the locals, Krastins says.
Normally, Krastins’ journey home to the Latvian capital, Riga, takes 12 hours, but it took 48 hours to get there.
In recent weeks, Krastins has been in daily contact with his players on the national and club teams. According to the coach, the players living in Ukraine are in fairly safe areas.
– Most of the players are in Lviv, where the situation is ok. There are air alarms every day and they need to protect themselves, but the city has not been bombed, so they have been safe.
Many players of the Ukrainian national team lived in the city of Kharkov, which was badly bombed, when the war broke out. According to Krastins, the players got out of town quickly.
– It’s really hard to believe that something like this could happen in our lifetime. No words can describe how bad things are happening in Ukraine, Krastins says.
In Finland, Ugis Krastins played a long career in the Champions League in Rovaniemi. Prior to moving to Ukraine, he coached VALEPA in the 2009-2016 seasons. Son of Krastins Elvis Krastins has played more than 100 matches in his career in the Finnish national team.