Hockey matches are the most expensive and most anticipated competitions of the upcoming Sochi Olympics. Russian fans expect only victory from the national team. And what do the athletes themselves and those who directly lead them to victory think about the 2014 Games?
On August 23 and 24, 2013, the regular Olympic training camp of the Russian hockey team in an expanded composition was held in Sochi. The main candidates for the national men's team have gathered in the Olympic capital.
Unfortunately, during the training camp, the hockey players were unable to go out on the ice and hold a training session. In the locker room on the ice arena, only a meeting was organized at which the hockey players were shown the tactics of the game. Thus, according to one of the members of the Russian national team, striker Alexander Ovechkin, the team will not have to start from scratch at the Olympics, the results of the past training camp will be stored in the memory of the athletes. At the same time, journalists associated the impossibility of training on ice with the high cost of renting an ice arena in Sochi.
According to Ovechkin, the tactics of the game will be selected for each opponent, but in general the picture of the game will be the same as the audience is used to seeing. “The main thing is that the fans believe in us, worry, and then, as God willing,” added the hockey player.
Our tradition is to win …
According to the President of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation Vladislav Tretyak, the Russian team at the upcoming Winter Olympics is only interested in victory. The coaching staff also issued a statement: "We are determined to win our Olympics."
Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, a former Soviet hockey player and now the head of the coaching staff, said: “Our tradition is to win, we are used to it, we have taught everyone and now we must return to the top. We have one goal, and we will go towards it at the expense of common team discipline, this is the most important component."
Will the women's team bring Olympic medals?
The realities of women's world hockey are such that for many years the first places in the largest international competitions have been played between the teams of Canada and the United States. Nevertheless, at the last World Championship in 2013, the Russian team managed to beat Finland and win the prize-winning third place. Hockey player Yulia Leskina, who has been playing for the national team for 5 years, is confident that the team will be able to repeat the success and receive the coveted medals at the Sochi Olympics. According to Yulia, today the women's ice hockey team has a strong line-up, a high-class coach and the opportunity to adequately represent the country at the 2014 Games.
