The German volleyball players made a successful start to the Olympic qualifying tournament in Rio de Janeiro. National coach Michal Winiarski’s team beat the more highly rated Iran 3-1 (25:22, 22:25, 25:16, 25:21) on Saturday evening (September 30th, 2023).
“That was just a great game for us“, said diagonal attacker Georg Grozer, the German team’s best scorer with 23 points: “This helps us, also for morale and the next step.“The Iranians are currently tenth in the world rankings, six places better than the selection of the German Volleyball Association (DVV).
DVV selection now against Cuba
The German volleyball players will meet Cuba, number twelve in the world, in the difficult Group A on Sunday (6.30 p.m.). “Cuba is a physical team, if we put pressure on our serve, we can handle it,” said Grozer.
Other opponents are world champions Italy (3rd), hosts Brazil (4th) and Ukraine (15th). They also play against the Czech Republic (20th) and Qatar (17th).
Olympic qualification first chance for the Paris ticket
The best two teams from all three groups of eight will secure participation in the Olympic Games, which host France has already secured. If Germany does not occupy one of the two required places, there would still be another chance to reach the world rankings. The German women, who finished their qualifying tournament in fifth place, are also hoping for this.
With Grozer, Fromm and Kaliberda towards the Olympics
The national coach is relying on the same 14 players in Rio de Janeiro who played at the European Championships in Italy. In addition to Kampa, the experienced actors Georg Grozer, Christian Fromm and Denys Kaliberda are also there.