This time, we will be looking at the following interview with Kubiak, which was posted on the Polish League website on July 18th local time.Michał Kubiak: Igrzyska Olimpijskie są najtrudniejszym turniejem pod względem psychologicznym”We provide a Japanese translation of the following.
https://www.plusliga.pl/news/id/47015.html
Michal Kubiak: The Olympics are the most mentally challenging competition
In six days, the Polish national team will play their first match of the 32nd Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, against Iran. "The Olympics are the most mentally demanding tournament," says Michal Kubiak, captain of our "White-Red" team.
The final test for the Polish players before the Tokyo Olympics was the 18th Furbert-Jerzy Wagner Memorial Cup, in which they won with consecutive 3-0 wins over Norway, Azerbaijan and Egypt. It was a big deal that fans were seen in the stands at the Tauron Arena in Krakow after a hiatus of about a year and a half. Unfortunately, the International Olympic Committee decided to hold the event without spectators due to the state of emergency declared in Japan.
"We are very happy that we were one of the few countries that managed to open arenas for fans under these circumstances. The only regret is that we were not able to interact with the fans as usual. We had to refuse autographs and photos. But there is nothing we can do about this. We have to follow the rules. We would like fans to be there at all times and in all venues. But the reality is, you know the reality. The decision will never change. But our goal remains the same, whether there are spectators or not," replied Michal Kubiak.
The Polish players know very well how to play without spectators - they did it during the 2020/21 club season and during the Nations League in Rimini - but will that make the experience in Tokyo any easier?
"We don't know because even for us it's difficult to judge the future at this point. Maybe the experience of the bubble in Italy will help us, but it can't be the same in Japan. We don't know what to expect. Hopefully in Tokyo we will have as much freedom as possible, but it's not everything and there's nothing we can do about it," said the White-Red captain.
He continued: "These Olympics will probably be unusual. The organizers are doing everything to ensure perfect hygiene. If these Olympics are unusual for us, we will also take all measures.
But there's no doubt that the preparation for this year's Olympics was very long. If you think of it as preparation for a single event like the Olympics, this was the longest of my life. But we've been well prepared, and the hard work we did in Rimini and before that was necessary. Now we just need to keep improving," the outside hitter emphasized.
What will be the key to the Tokyo Olympics? "The most important thing is to keep a calm mind. Luckily, we arrived in Japan 10 days before the Olympics start. We have time to get our routine in order and improve our weak areas, so we will be fully prepared for the games," Kubiak said.
The athletes did not hide from their singular goal: a medal.
"The Olympics is the most mentally toughest tournament. Physically it will probably be ok. If all goes well we can win a medal after just eight games. In some cases you can win a medal and lose more games than you win. We want to win all our games, but we'll see," said the Polish player.
In Group A, Poland will face Iran, Italy, Venezuela, Japan and Canada in the next round. Everyone in Poland will be hoping that the reigning world champions can overcome their weakness in recent Olympic quarter-finals, which have so far prevented the "white-red" from winning a medal.
"If we don't win this sixth match we won't be able to play the remaining two, so we have to stay calm and not put any extra pressure on ourselves. We just have to play this match and do our best. If we don't play in the quarterfinals like this, will we be defeated and not be able to play any more? Form is form, but we go onto the court intending to win every match. Even if we can't maintain that form we have to do everything we can to put the quarterfinals in our favour," Kubiak concluded.
Source: plusliga.pl
Photo: FIVB
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