Satou Sabally is aiming for a ticket to Paris with the national basketball team, but he has even bigger goals when looking into the not-so-near future. “I want an Olympic medal. I don’t just want to be at the Olympics,” said the player from the US professional league WNBA in the “MagentaSport” interview before her comeback in the national jersey.
In qualifying for the 2025 European Championship, Sabally will compete with the German team on Thursday in Prague against the Czech Republic (6 p.m.) and on Sunday in Hamburg against Italy (5.30 p.m./both free at MagentaSport). The Olympic qualifying tournament for the 2024 Summer Games will take place in Brazil in February.
Sabally really wants to go to Paris next year (“we’re so close”). In Belem they have to achieve at least third place in the difficult group of four, against the hosts, Serbia and Australia.
“Now may not be the time to win a medal at the Olympics,” said Sabally, “but I believe that we are now preparing to be able to win a medal as a German women’s team at some point.”
The 25-year-old from Berlin explained that returning was extremely important for her: “The next two years are so important for German women’s basketball – I have to be part of it now.” Germany is co-hosting the 2025 European Championships with Hamburg as the venue, and the 2026 World Cup will take place in Berlin.