Tokyo, March 20, 2006: The Russian men's team will be leaving nothing to chance when they arrive in Japan for the World Championships later this year.
A two-man delegation from the Volleyball Federation of Russia had a whirlwind inspection tour of Sendai on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, checking out the city where they will play Pool D games against Serbia and Montenegro, Korea, Canada, Tunisia and Kazakhstan from November 17-22.
General Director Stanislav Shevchenko and head coach Zoran Gajic wasted no time in visiting five training halls, the competition venue at Sendai City Gymnasium and two hotels, as they prepare to hold a six-day training camp before the official arrival date for men's teams of November 15.
They were shown around by local sports official Kiyotaka Ota and members of the World Championships organising committee head office from Tokyo.
"It was very useful to have some meetings with the organisers and local officials, and great to see the training halls, competition venue and hotels at first hand, so we can plan our preparations thoroughly," said Shevchenko.
"We are looking forward to coming back to Japan -- and winning the World Championship," he added.
Caption: The General Director of the Volleyball Federation of Russia, Stanislav Shevchenko, is pictured (left), with men's team head coach Zoran Gajic. They were assisted by Marina Kholod (centre), a Russian-Japanese interpreter who is studying at the nearby Tohoku University.
