It took Venezuela’s men’s national team members nearly nine months to reunite after they secured their country’s return to the Olympics last January, but now it seems the Vinotintos' preparations for the Tokyo Games are finally back on track.While the national team members who play overseas have already rejoined their clubs in Europe, a group of players is currently reunited in the country’s capital Caracas, where they have returned to the court after seven months of limited activity.“This is our third week of training and it’s been nice to be out here,” team captain Jos ‘Chema’ Carrasco said. “It’s been a slow process for us to work on our bodies and touch the ball again. We’re gaining our touch and our movement back after several months in which we couldn’t do much. We never forgot how to play, but it takes some time to get back to where we were before. The Olympics are still several months ahead, but it’s reassuring for us to have started working now after all that happened.”With the future calendar of tournaments yet to be confirmed, the Venezuelans are taking their time in their buildup towards the Tokyo Olympics. The first goal is to get all the players back to their best physical form so they can start working on on-court improvements.“The most important thing now is that we get back in good physical shape,” Carrasco reflected. “We have no tournaments in the near future, so we can take our time and regain our match form before we work on the tactical side of the game. Improving our fitness and our technique are the main goals at this point.”Related Article:
Third time’s the charm for Venezuelan captain CarrascoThe Tokyo Olympics will mark the return of the Venezuelans to the main stage of international sports after the country’s top generation of Ernando ‘Harry’ Gomez, Rodman Valera, Luis Diaz and Ivan Marquez took the South Americans to a ninth-place finish at Beijing 2008 in their first and only appearance at the Games.Despite a troubled start to preparations due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic around the globe, Carrasco and his teammates are determined to follow up on their accomplishment of qualifying for the Olympics after two unsuccessful attempts with a historical campaign in the Japanese capital next year.“After this first step here in Caracas, we hope circumstances allow us to leave the country and prepare overseas,” the setter added. “We have several examples from the past that our team performs a lot better after we get to be on a training camp overseas, it’s always been the case since I joined the team and I hope we get an opportunity before the Olympics.”Quick links:
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020FacebookTwitterInstagramYoutube