Volleyball, the Ukrainian Plotnytskyi does not shake hands with the Russian Sapozhkov – Corriere.it

Perugia-Verona, third day of the playoff for the fifth place in men’s volleyball which guarantees access to the Challenge Cup, the third European cup. On one side of the net Oleh Plotnytskyi, 25, Ukrainian, spiker from Perugia for four seasons; on the other Maksim Sapozhkov, 22 years old, Russian, opposite of Verona since the beginning of this championship. We are at the time of final greetings, after the 3-0 success of the Umbrians: Plotnytskyi and Sapozhkov are among the last of their respective teams to reach the net. Everyone shakes hands with everyone – usually – in a double single file going in opposite directions. When they cross, however, Sapozhkov already knows that he will have to cover up. Plotnytskyi is staring straight ahead, high-fives Mozic, then pulls his arm back, brings his hand to his leg and ignores the Russian on the other side of the net, to return to greet the other players behind him. Not new, he had done it an hour and a half earlier on the occasion of the initial greeting. And he had also done it in both games of the regular season.

Usually, when it’s his turn to serve, opponents start to worry. By now they know him well, he has been playing for six seasons in Italy, but they haven’t managed to limit him yet: Plotnytskyi’s joke remains among the most effective in the Super League. A stone that often turns into an ace, as also recognized by the official statistics of Lega Volley which see him widely in the lead in the fundamental classification this season. born June 5th 1997 to Vinnytsia, 250 kilometers south of Kiev, in Ukraineto.

Sapozhkov is a young talent of the Russian school who has long dominated the world volleyball scene. born November 15th 2000 in Voronezhin the Oblast region, just 300 kilometers from the border with Ukraine and from Kharkiv, one of the most war-torn cities. Both are the only representatives of the two countries in our championship. And they ignore each other; or rather, Plotnytskyi ignores Sapozhkov, although the latter has never expressed himself publicly on the subject of war. Or perhaps for this very reason.

All in the days in which the IOC has reopened the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions, albeit without a flag and limited to individual sports. No volleyball, therefore, but the possibility that such scenes could recur in other disciplines clearly needs to be taken into account, despite the fact that President Zelensky has asked Ukrainian athletes not to participate in events in which the presence of Russian athletes is expected.

For Plotnytskyi, as for all Ukrainians on the other hand, the subject strikes particularly sensitive chords. very difficult to play when there is a war in your country – he said a year ago at the end of one of the first games after the outbreak of the conflict – because you inevitably think of other things. I spent most of the time on the phone, getting news, trying to help, talking to my parents. But certainly not as difficult as for those who live in Ukraine, Kiev or Kharkhiv, where there is almost nothing to eat, one is locked up in bunkers for days, with the children, without a bathroom. I’m fine, I’m lucky enough to be in Italy and everything is calm here.

A few weeks later, when the whole city of Perugia and the Sirmaniaci, the organized supporters group from Perugia, mobilized to help the Ukrainian population, he added: At first I thought it would all be over in a few days, but it is clear that Putin does not want to end this war. It was unthinkable that in 2022 there could be such a war. The sooner this is over, the better for everyone. Yours is a great help thanks to which we Ukrainians are stronger and we will win this war.