UPDATE:

Contrary to reports, Koshe is fit enough to play for the Grand Prix. The Russian beauty scored 32 points from 23 kills, 8 blocks and 1 ace from Round 1 of the Grand Prix. If she continues to improve her game & physical status, then she will be a WEAPON to watch out for in the later stages of the GP and the upcoming European Champs.

Stay strong Koshe!

July 30th, 2013

Girlfriend has been having problems for a long time now.

We can’t believe Koshe is still NOT okay and she’d most likely miss this year’s Grand Prix.

According to Russia’s head coach, Yuriy Marichev, the gorgeous outside hitter is still not 100% ready to compete in competitions such as the Grand Prix because of physical problems.

“Tatiana is not feeling very well. We will give her a break because Tatiana isn’t ready yet for the intensity level needed for the Grand Prix competition. Of course if her condition gets better, she will get her chance to play”.

The last time we saw Koshe crushing balls left and right was at the 2010 World Championship when Russia won gold and she was awarded as the Best Spiker of the tournament. She made an appearance at the 2012 London Olympics but didn’t get to play at all.

Coach Yuri also opened up about the status of his team in an interview released by usmanagement.ru:

Is the squad for Grand Prix the strongest so far this season?

“I dont think so, but I hope that after Grand Prix we can add some names, and be even stronger. We need more strength, especially in attack and that is something we have to look for in the upcoming tournaments. Our setter, Anna Matienko, played only a bit because she is preparing for Universiade and her substitution Ekaterina Pankova is not yet so strong. Now at GP we will see how team looks with Anna leading them, I hope she will do well because we need her for European Championship. Also I plan to use all 12 players in spite of the result.”

As far as the atmosphere in the team goes, how confident players are?

“You should perhaps check with the girls. In my opinion it can be better but I’m satisfied in general. Training process is quite intense and it includes a lot of physical practice. I understand that there may be a problem for some girls but that is my style and I won’t change it.”

What has changed in training regime?

“Workload is getting lower as we are closer to competition. We try to do less individual practice and more of strategy and tactics.”

After Universiade you gave girls a break?

“Of course. We had very hard working period in Anapa where we played 11 games in just 20 days so rest was really needed. When back from break players are hungry for work and ready to train hard again.”

Are there any methods to accumulate time zone changes?

“Medical staff are doing everything in their power to keep players fresh but it’s not an easy task to do. We will begin with exercise immediately after arrival so that muscles don’t go lazy.”

If you go far into tournament, you will have very little time to rest before European Championship starts, is it going to be a problem?

“It’s very tough for us. If for example we get to final, then we will have only one day to rest before flying to Germany. I would change calendar if it’s up to me, but that is not the case so we have to withstand any troubles and deal with them. For us EC is the main objective and we will try our best to win it.”

Without team veterans like Sokolova and Gamova, it won’t be an easy journey for the Russian squad but we still need to keep an eye on them because they have a lot of talented young players.

Good luck girls!