Polish volleyball players handed state awards
PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki
02.10.2018 09:54
Poland’s president on Tuesday handed state awards to the country’s men’s volleyball team, praising the players for becoming world champions for the second time in a row.
President Andrzej Duda (centre) meets the Polish team on Tuesday. Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański
The Poles beat Brazil 3-0 in the final of the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championships in Turin, Italy on Sunday, defending their title and claiming their third world championship gold after wins in 2014 in Poland and in 1974 in Mexico.
Meeting the players at the presidential palace in Warsaw, President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday congratulated the team and said that its “victory in the final left no doubts about who is the best.”
Duda added: “Your victory makes Poland famous throughout the world in this milestone year as we celebrate the centennial of our independence.”
The team's Bartosz Kurek, who was on Sunday named best player of the championships, was awarded a special honour, the Officer's Cross of the Polonia Restituta Order, public broadcaster Polish Radio's IAR news agency reported.
On Monday evening, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki met the team and said that all Poles countrywide including himself were happy and proud of its achievement.
Morawiecki also promised "significant" funding for volleyball to ensure an influx of young talent and maintain Poland's successes in the sport, according to reports.
The Polish men’s national volleyball team earlier on Monday received a hero’s welcome as it returned home from the world championships in Bulgaria and Italy.
Sports Minister Witold Bańka praised the team at a news conference, thanking it for "proudly representing our national colours" and for "fighting for victory in each match."
(gs/pk)
Source: IAR